Fond du Lac County Executive Sam Kaufman addresses mis-information about new justice center construction

Talk of a new Fond du Lac County justice center has gotten some social media pages in an uproar over the projected price tag attached to building the complex.

After building a new county highway garage complex just outside of the City of Fond du Lac on Hickory Road, the county bought more land next to the facility with the thoughts of building a new jail.

While that idea was brewing, conversation arose as to how limitations in the current court house, and sheriff’s office could be remedied with building new facilities at the new location as well.

While nothing has been set in stone yet, this “news” has recently surfaced on social media and the proposed estimate of a $400 million price tag has gotten many riled up over how that will affect taxes for years to come. However this was just a number thrown out when asked if there was any idea what the maximum a project like this might cost.

Seeing all the wrong information being passed around, County Executive Sam Kaufman posted a letter setting all the misinformation straight.

Over the last few days I have read and heard various posts, news stories and received messages in regard to a proposed jail project. Unfortunately, most of the comments are factually incorrect and need to be clarified. First, as County Executive I speak on behalf of the Executive Branch, however, I do not speak on behalf of the County Board. The County Board will ultimately need to vote on this issue. In the meantime I want to make sure facts are corrected and clarified:

1. The topic of a new jail facility has been in discussion for the last 5 years. Earlier this year the County Board realized that the issue must move forward and began a process of appointing an ad hoc committee and ultimately a joint committee of Public Safety and Highway, Airport and Facilities. There have been comments that the county board has acted in secret. This statement is completely untrue. The county board has had this on their public agenda at various times this year for both county board meetings, ad hoc committee and joint committee meetings. All meetings were posted in accordance with state law. All meetings were open to the public. Furthermore, myself, Chair Steve Abel and Sheriff Waldschmidt have discussed the jail project this year during interviews with Stensland, KFIZ and Bob Nelson. Every supervisor has worked hard to ensure this process has been transparent to the public and I give each of them credit for the serious discussions and questions they have posed. A real failure is that we do not have a strong print media in our area. Why has the Reporter not been reporting on this topic when all of the radio stations have held interviews?

2.  Why a jail facility? I have seen comments that the county board is taking this up because they simply want a new jail facility. Completely untrue. The truth is that the State of Wisconsin Dept of Corrections has for a number of years provided notice to our county that our jail is not in compliance with DOC code and steps must be taken to correct this. Our County Supervisors have each toured our existing facility and agree that our current jail is in a poor and unsafe condition to the inmates and our Correctional Officers. Old sewage pipes crumbling and leaking into cells, cell doors that will no longer shut, ventilation issues etc, is almost a daily occurrence. The State DOC will no longer allow continued waivers if we fail to take action. Our jail facility is well past its expected life. Our failure as a county was in not addressing this issue 20 years ago and allowing the can to be continuously kicked down the road. Well, the can has now hit the end of the road and the State is ready to take our can away. Are we ready to be forced to release inmates back into the public because the state has mandated an immediate reduction? Many of the other counties have limited space and due to over crowding we have been forced to place inmates in other counties at our expense. Keeping our current jail in its present condition is no longer an option. The question unresolved is do we renovate or build new or do both?

3.  The County is building a $400 million dollar Justice Center has been the continuous comment that certain groups have been telling the public. This statement is not true. The County Board has not decided on what would be built and there is no estimate or bid the County has obtained for any such number. This number unfortunately was what some that attended the ad hoc committee jumped to a conclusion when the Consultant was asked what could be the worse case number if we did a Justice Center. The response was worse case $300-$400 million, but possibly less and we will not know until bids are received. If the County Board decides in 2026 to proceed with the project the formal bidding process, as required by state law, will begin. Once the competitive bids are received a true number will be determined. The County Board can then decide to make changes in order to save costs. Again, to date there is no final decision made by the County Board.  Our County Board Supervisors have each worked hard to attend the meetings, be informed and ask questions. I give each Supervisor credit for the strong effort they have made in preparing to make an informed tough decision.

4.  Justice Center or Jail Facility? The joint jail committee members did vote at their last meeting, after considering both the highway land site and land across from the existing jail, to recommend the highway land as the site of a Justice Center. However, this is only a recommendation and not the final answer of the County Board. This coming Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. the County Board will convene to take up the resolution based on the recommendation of the committee. I can state that not all Supervisors are in agreement and have made it clear that they feel the site across from the jail should still be looked at before any final vote on what will be built. The idea of a Justice Center was being considered because the committee was trying to look 20 years down the road and what our needs may be. The intention was to pick that site and see what it would cost to build it now verse trying to build it in the future at greater cost. I understand what their intention is, however, although I do not get to vote on the topic I have made my position clear during County Board meetings, committee meetings and during interviews as to a Justice Center. I want this point to be clear, I do not support the construction of a Justice Center and would veto any resolution that directs that a Justice Center be constructed at the highway land. I do not know what the cost would be, but I would expect it would add millions on top of what a jail facility would cost. What is lost in this discussion is what I have been pointing out that if we moved the majority of our courts, DA, jail, Sheriff Dept, etc it would leave our current county building over half vacant. Our building is the City of Fond du Lac – County of Fond du Lac complex and the County would still have to meet its financial obligations to the City in maintaining the complex.

5.  Tax implications/Payment. I have seen numbers thrown around as to what it may cost home owners. All of the numbers I have seen are speculative since there is no final number. I have also made my position clear that we can only finance what is realistic. Since 2022 I have made millions in budget cuts to balance each year and live within our means. It is unrealistic to state that the county has the funds through sales tax to pay for a jail. If the county was to divert sales tax and existing levy to pay for a facility the impact to the services we provide would be substantial. There would need to be immediate county wide operational and capital improvement cuts in Human Service programs, within our Sheriff’s Department and Highway Dept since they are the 3 largest budgets.

6.  State assistance. This point is frustrating to me. I have had discussions with the state in regard to some form of financial assistance and have essentially been told no. If they do it for our county then all of the other counties will expect the same, well duh of course they would and assistance should be provided to counties throughout the state. Crime is a state wide issue, just not Fond du Lac County. Lastly, a few months back Sheriff Waldschmidt and I held an in person meeting with DOC to pitch an idea. The state is currently struggling to find placement for state inmates and continuously asks counties for bed space. We pitched the idea of a State-County partnership that could be a model for other counties as each county over the next 5-10 years needs to deal with their own jails. We proposed that the State financially contribute toward the construction of the jail facility and as part of the facility a wing be built to house state inmates thereby providing guaranteed bed space. This would be far cheaper than building more state prisons and provides financial assistance to the counties in the construction. The county could then enter into contracts with the state paying the county to provide Correctional officers, thereby providing a continuous revenue stream and jobs for the county. Unfortunately, the officials felt that this would not work because DOC would not be able to get the legislature to take up the unpopular issue of inmates and jails.  

7.   Jail population. I have seen comments that we are housing other inmates which is the cause of the overcrowding. Completely untrue. Our current facility is at capacity due to arrests of individuals that do not even reside in our county. Currently, 20% of the jail population are residing in other counties. We do not house those on minor offenses and most that do not pose a threat to the public are released on use of a bracelet. We also are currently housing an average of 20 inmates in other counties at our county expense. There are rules that DOC requires as to placement of inmates and oddly classifications that do not allow certain inmates to be near each other. Someone asked well “why not just let the criminals that are going through our county just continue on?” My response is now tell that to the family that lost a family member due to a drug overdose because that scumbag criminal drug supplier was allowed to keep going and deliver the product. Our county will not tolerate allowing scum like this continue to run operations through our county. I am thankful for our Sheriff, City of Fond du Lac PD and all of the other agencies that stop them in their tracks and a DA that will prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.

I know my comments will not satisfy all that are adamantly opposed to building or renovating due to any resulting increase in taxes. However, I do want to please ask the public to attend the meetings, share your thoughts and be respectful of your District Supervisors. I have no doubt that each Supervisor takes this matter seriously and each works to make sure they are making an informed decision. Public Informational meetings was always part of the plan once the County Board has more solid information as to what they are looking to build and possible cost estimates. This decision will not be rushed, nor will I allow it to be rushed.  

Thank you.