Ballots in at least a few Minnesota cities and counties are asking voters a similar question: Are you willing to accept a temporary sales tax increase to expand public safety facilities?

The agencies say they’ve outgrown their facilities, and they plan to expand and remodel to provide more modern, inclusive safety services.

Stearns County officials plan to build a brand new justice center campus to house the jail, police station, courthouse and other related services, and they plan to move it away from downtown St. Cloud.

“The three problems [are] really just space, a need for infrastructure investment, regardless of what we do…and third, operationally, the world has changed. Mental health and health care is a huge component to our jail population. That wasn’t a thing in ’86 when this building was built,” said Stearns County Facilities Director Kevin Korneck.

“We are chronically close to full capacity most days,” said Stearns County Sheriff Steve Soyka, referencing the current jail facility. “We’re definitely looking at a new facility, you know, increasing our programming and having that take a whole different look than what we’re doing currently.”

The county hopes to raise the necessary $325 million by increasing the countywide sales tax by three-eighths of a cent for the next 30 years or until the project is paid for, whichever comes first.

“We’re really looking for a piece of property, 40-50 acres that we can we can do this project right. We can plan for expansion in the future,” Korneck said.

Officials say the project is happening either way; the ballot question will simply decide how it’s paid for.

A “yes” vote on the ballot referendum would mean raising the sales tax, which the county estimates would increase the average household’s expenses by $85 a year.

A “no” vote means the county would likely raise property taxes instead, which would cost the average household $185 more a year, according to their estimation.

“That would not need to go to any sort of a vote or referendum. The [county] commissioners could make that decision on their own,” Korneck explained.

Over in Woodbury, voters are asked to weigh a similar, temporary half-cent sales tax to renovate and expand its public safety campus.

Police Chief Jason Posel says a “yes” vote there would also include a roughly $13/year increase in property taxes for the average household.

Similarly, a “no” vote would mean the city moves forward with a larger property tax increase to fund the roughly $50 million project. $154 more per year for the average household, Chief Posel said.

In Oakdale, voters are asked to extend an existing half-cent sales tax increase, citing a rise in construction costs for expanding and remodeling their police facility and building a new public works facility.

Simply put, this is critical public safety infrastructure that we’re talking about,” Korneck concluded.

“We’re not building a Taj Mahal by any means. We’re going to build a purpose-driven facility, you know, that serves the community,” Sheriff Soyka added. “My point is we’re just doing our due diligence to do the right thing and to build what we need, and not more and not less, and to plan for the future.”

The historic Stearns County Courthouse and county administration building will both remain in downtown St. Cloud, Korneck said. The jail and a fourth building will be demolished, he added.

A list of ballot questions by county can be found HERE.