Kip Kendrick, Presiding Commissioner

Justin Aldred, District I Commissioner

Janet Thompson, District II Commissioner

Roger B. Wilson

Boone County Government Center

801 E. Walnut St., Rm 333

Columbia, MO 65201-7732

(573) 886-4305 (573) 886-4311

Boone County
Commission

Boone County News Release

Boone County Commission to Hold Public Hearing on Proposed Ballot Issue

COLUMBIA, Mo. (May 14, 2026) - On Tuesday, May 19, the Boone County Commission will hold a public hearing regarding the Boone County’s Sheriff’s request to place a 3/8 cent Prop L sales tax enhancement on the August 4 ballot to fund the construction of a new Boone County Jail. The public hearing will occur during the Commission’s regularly scheduled meeting on May 19 at 9:30 a.m. in the Boone County Commission Chambers, located inside the Roger B. Wilson Boone County Government Center at 801 E. Walnut, Columbia.

Due to the high number of court orders requiring defendants to be held in the Boone County Jail, coupled with limited space in the current jail, Boone County is consistently housing more detainees in out-of-county jails than in the Boone County Jail. Depending on detainee classifications and other various circumstances, the current Boone County Jail is only capable of housing around 190 detainees. As of May 5, 2026, 201 of the 392 Boone County detainees were being housed in 12 different counties across the state of Missouri. The cost to Boone County for out-of-county detainee housing has drastically increased in the recent past, climbing from $499,000 in 2022 to over $2.5 million in 2025. With over $1 million spent to house detainees out-of-county during the first quarter of 2026, the projections for this year and the trajectory they show are unsustainable.

Should the ballot measure be approved by voters, the initial construction would provide a new jail with approximately 570 beds to meet the detainee housing demands on Boone County, would be designed to better accommodate the increasing number of detainees experiencing mental health issues, and would be constructed in a manner to accommodate phases of expansion as needed. Ultimately, the initial construction of the new jail would take a minimum of four years for completion and would be a long-term investment in Boone County designed to accommodate at least three additional phases of expansion spanning decades.

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