Budget Committee Meets To Discuss New Cocke County Jail

Last week the Cocke County Budget Committee and the General Committee met for a workshop to discuss the funding for a new Cocke County jail. The committees did not have a quorum so could not make any official decisions. Forest Clevenger gave an update on the latest estimates of what it would cost to build a new jail and justice center. Clevenger said the estimate of $42 million would just be for the building…it would take another $8 million to equip it which makes for a total estimate of $50 million. The committee estimated that the county’s yearly payment on the new jail would be around $2.4 million. After money generated from a proposed $50 Wheel tax is factored in, there would still be a shortfall of $800,000 the county would need to generate from somewhere to make its yearly payment. The committee has planned to meet again on either February 24th or March 3rd to continue discussions on the project and hopefully resolve the funding issue for a new jail in Cocke County.