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BEMIDJI 鈥� Voters in Beltrami County took to the polls on Tuesday to voice their opinion on how the county's new jail should be funded, with a huge majority supporting a local option sales tax over increased property taxes.

After polls had closed, results indicated that 8,802 voters, or 96.84%, supported the sales tax by voting 鈥測es鈥� on the referendum, compared to a mere 287, or 3.16%, who voted 鈥渘o.鈥�

On Wednesday morning, Beltrami County Sheriff Jason Riggs shared that he was surprised by the wide margin.

鈥淚 did not expect that, to see almost 97% (vote yes) was amazing,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 was optimistically hoping for maybe 75%.鈥�

Two options for funding the jail were provided in the referendum, with a 鈥測es鈥� vote meaning the majority of the project鈥檚 estimated $80 million cost will be financed through a 0.65% local options sales tax for 30 years or until the county鈥檚 bonds are retired.

A 鈥渘o鈥� vote meant that the majority of the costs would have been financed through increased property taxes over the same period.

With the overwhelming majority of voters supporting the sales tax, Beltrami County鈥檚 next steps are to continue with the project for the new jail and begin working toward implementing the sales tax.

鈥淣ow we know how we are going to fund it,鈥� Riggs said. 鈥淭he next steps are really to continue the process.鈥�

He shared that the county will start sending out construction management bids and take other technical steps to move the project forward. While unsure of exactly when the sales tax would be implemented, he shared that it would likely be at some point in 2024.

A total of 9,089 county residents cast a ballot in the referendum, representing 32.2% percent of the county鈥檚 28,228 registered voters as of 7 a.m. on Tuesday.

鈥淚 think we had a really good voter turnout, especially for an off-year,鈥� Riggs said. 鈥淚鈥檓 just very grateful for the people who worked so diligently to educate and get the word out on this, and for the voters of Beltrami County for making this a priority.鈥�

When the results are divided by city wards, 91.8% of Ward 1 voters supported the sales tax, 94.0% for Ward 2, 95.8% for Ward 3, 94.9% for Ward 4 and 96.6% for Ward 5, which is also the ward where the planned location for the facility is located.

Support for the sales tax was fairly even when comparing results in Bemidji to greater Beltrami County, with 95.3% of city voters supporting the tax and 97.3% of broader county voters. A total of 2,155 city residents voted, and 6,934 from the rest of the county.

Beltrami County has been pursuing a solution to its aging jail since 2019 when the Minnesota Department of Corrections stated that the current facility no longer met state standards. In November 2022, the Beltrami County Board of Commissioners unanimously voted in favor of building a new jail, and a location was selected in August 2023.

鈥淚鈥檓 just looking forward to getting this project going to a point where we can start to see the benefits of a new facility,鈥� Riggs left off.