The Cole County Sheriff's Department has proposed a temporary sales tax increase to fund an expansion to the county jail, support employee salaries and cover other expenses for the department.
The Sheriff's Department proposed the half-cent sales tax for voters to consider no earlier than the April 2027 municipal election, if the Cole County Commission approves.
Cole County Sheriff John Wheeler said Cole County spent approximately $425,000 in 2025 housing inmates in other counties due to being at capacity in the Cole County Jail.
Wheeler said that by the end of April 2026, the Sheriff's Department had already completed 478 transports, setting the county on pace to exceed 1,400 transports by the year’s end.
“Right now, we are housing in Osage County, Moniteau County, Sedalia, Audrain, all over the place because you can't find beds,” Wheeler said.
The Cole County Jail can currently hold a total of 160 inmates with an additional 26 beds for inmates with classification requirements involving gender, violent versus non-violent offenders, known enemies, medical needs and other safety considerations.
The county has also experienced a significant increase in mental health commitments and related transports, placing additional strain on the Sheriff’s Department’s staffing and operational resources.
Wheeler said Sheriff's Department is down 15 staff members right now, and a lot of those positions are in the jail.
“Due to the ongoing cost, the increase of inmates, we are at a tipping point right now where we need more revenue coming in, and we just don't have it,” Wheeler said.
Cole County currently levies a sales tax at three-eights of a cent, which would be increased to half a cent if the proposal makes it to the ballot and voters approve.
Wheeler said the Sheriff's Department has laid out a 15-year plan to pay off the bond, making the half-a-cent sales tax reduce to three-eighths of a cent by 2041.
Wheeler said this model is similar to the model used for a county law enforcement tax that Cole County voters approved in 2007.
In 2007, Cole County voters approved a one-half-cent county law enforcement sales tax to fund the land acquisition, construction and operation of a new jail and Sheriff’s Department facility. After the original bonds were paid off, the tax was reduced to three-eighths of a cent effective Jan. 1, 2023, according to a document proposed to the Cole County Commission.
"It would be a half-cent sales tax until we do the buildout, and the bonds get paid off and then it will get rolled back to three-eighths just like what we did before,” Wheeler said.
There is currently no date set for the Cole County Commission's next discussion of this tax proposal.
