According to Webster County Sheriff Luke Fleener, it’s a trend that will continue.

“What’s happening now is what we made the public aware of last fall when the referendum was on the ballot,” said Fleener.

The $45.5 million jail bond referendum to build a new facility failed to pass by just 266 votes last November. The referendum needed 60 percent of the votes, but only received 55 percent.

That new facility would have replaced the current jail on the third floor of the Webster County Law Enforcement Center, 702 First Ave. S.

The 41-year-old Webster County Jail can house 50 inmates, though Fleener said it typically houses 45 to allow space for new arrests made daily. On average, the county also has 15 inmates being housed out of the county as well.

“Since the pandemic, our inmate numbers grew rapidly when the courts shut down, and they have never returned to normal,” said Fleener. “That may be due to the increase in our crime level, more arrests by officers enforcing the laws, and increase in addiction to controlled substances, just to name a few causes.”

According to Fleener, many counties in Iowa have newer and larger jail facilities which are occasionally able to take prisoners from Webster County. In these instances, Webster County pays the other jail for housing and caring for the inmate leading to increased revenue for that county, and added cost for Webster County.

The county budgeted $500,000 for fiscal year 2024-2025 for jail overcrowding, but he says that does not include the cost of transportation, salaries, fuel, or the wear and tear on vehicles with multiple employees transporting prisoners almost every day.

It’s a problem that also affects the city of Fort Dodge. Police Chief Dennis Quinn said that if his officers make an arrest and the Webster County Jail is at capacity, they attempt to find another jail in the state willing to take the offender. Then an officer is pulled from their normal patrol duties to transport the prisoner to the other jail.

“This officer now cannot respond to calls for service until they’re back in the city limits,” said Quinn.

Webster County also currently has a list of more than 1,000 individuals waiting to serve time on unfinished criminal cases. Fleener says this occurs when a judge issues a sentence and orders the defendant to serve the mandatory two days required by law.

“We just don’t have any space to allow this to happen,” said Fleener. “That number has grown every year for the past three years.”

With the jail being at capacity, Fleener said that many times violators are being issued citations to appear in court in lieu of an arrest, given that there is no space to house the offender.

“It is just the position we are all in, due to us out-growing our current facility,” said Fleener.

Both Fleener and Quinn said that despite the lack of housing at the Webster County Jail, they are constantly focusing on public safety and how to keep residents safe.

“The No. 1 goal is public safety,” said Quinn. “We are constantly looking at different ways to provide the level of service that this community deserves. We are all working side-by-side with our agencies as well as the Iowa State Patrol and other local and state law enforcement partners to keep our community safe.”

“When we attempted the referendum last year, I spoke at every town hall and let the citizens know that no matter the outcome of the vote, we will always be committed to keeping our community safe, even with the rising cost of the jail,” added Fleener. “We have a great working relationship with the Fort Dodge Police Department and together, Chief Quinn and I will do our very best to keep this community safe.”