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Indiana Tax Court hearing on jail project funding set for Wednesday

Rendering of the proposed Allen County jail by Elevatus Architecture
Elevatus Architecture
Rendering of the proposed Allen County jail by Elevatus Architecture

An Indiana tax court judge will hear arguments about the proposed Allen County Jail project Wednesday, the first step in the case likely to stretch on for the summer.

Wednesday’s hearing will decide whether the Allen County Residents Against the Jail, a group opposing the $300-million project, will need to post a bond to keep the case moving forward.

The group sued this spring, effectively halting the project which was the county’s solution to a federal court order addressing unconstitutional conditions at the aging downtown facility.

The lawsuit claims it is improper to use Allen County’s historic courthouse as collateral for a bond to fund the jail construction, even though the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance already approved the plan.

With the collateral in question, Allen County cannot secure the bonds it needs for construction to begin.

Court documents listed multiple dates throughout the summer, as late as Aug. 9, as filing deadlines and oral argument dates.

It is not yet clear how the delay in construction will impact the federal case governing conditions at the current downtown facility.

Tony Sandleben joined the WBOI News team in September of 2022.