Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera has proposed a $700 million bond to expand the county jail, a plan that would carry $34 million in annual operating costs and affect property tax bills across Draper and the rest of the county.

Rivera presented the proposal to the Salt Lake County Debt Review Committee on Wednesday, July 29, according to meeting minutes included in the committee's Aug. 26 agenda packet. The expansion would bring total jail capacity to 1,024 beds by decommissioning Oxbow Jail and relocating its 552 beds to the Adult Detention Center. The project would also add 160 mental health beds and 100 stepdown beds.

Rivera told the committee the jail is at 90 percent capacity and is no longer permitted to conduct overcrowding releases. She said the Utah State Legislature changed laws that now require people to stay in jail longer, adding pressure on capacity.

The price tag is seven times the $100 million parks bond the same committee unanimously recommended to the County Council at that July 29 meeting. That parks bond is headed to the Tuesday, Nov. 3 ballot.

A second try after 2024 defeat

County voters rejected a $507 million public-safety bond in 2024 that would have expanded jail capacity and built a new justice center. Roughly 52 percent opposed it, according to a December 2025 Draper Journal report. After that defeat, the county shifted to a smaller 0.2 percent sales-tax increase to fund limited jail work.

Now the Sheriff's Office is back with a larger ask. Chief Deputy Matt Dumont told the committee the $34 million annual operating cost reflects "the increase in population and medical costs," adding that "it is more expensive to run a medically focused correctional facility."

Committee member Darrin Casper said the operating cost estimate is 25 percent over budget but that the additions are intended to be phased in over time. He said the committee sent a letter to the County Council anticipating refined cost numbers by Friday, Sept. 25.

Lease revenue bond could bypass ballot

Unlike the failed 2024 bond, this proposal would likely be structured as a lease revenue bond issued through the Municipal Building Authority, based on the committee's earlier recommendation. At an April 22 committee meeting, Casper said a lease revenue bond is the county's only mechanism other than a general obligation bond because it lacks capacity for a sales tax bond. That structure would not require voter approval.

The committee unanimously recommended the lease revenue bond approach in April. Casper said the county anticipated having about $160 million set aside for the jail project by 2027, with bond issuance around 2028.

The Sheriff's Office has selected an architect and was meeting weekly with the firm as of July 29.

What comes next

Committee member Mitchell Park said the "next step should be to take this to the Council and let it know what options are on the table." Committee Chair Ralph Chamness placed a jail bond operating cost update on the Aug. 26 agenda as a follow-up item, though minutes from that meeting are not yet available.

The parks bond public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 6 at 6 p.m. Refined jail bond numbers are expected to reach the County Council by Sept. 25.