Allen County Sheriff

After the ACLU filed a motion for a three-judge panel to set population levels at the Allen County Jail, Sheriff Troy Hershberger clarified what a prisoner-release means

The lawsuits filed by a group of citizens attacking the funding structure of the planned jail have delayed the project, and attorneys representing inmates want to have the court step in.

The two similar suits attack the structure put in place by county officials to pay for the $300-million project.

With funding packages approved and conditions stabilizing in the existing jail, both sides agree another formal in-person status conference may not be necessary.

Attorneys representing the plaintiffs in a federal case challenging conditions at the Allen County Jail say they are “profoundly concerned” by the Allen County Council’s unwillingness to give the Allen County Commissioners the money needed to start the jail project.

The 4-to-3 vote came as a deadline approached for getting an income tax increase done this calendar year, and before a deadline imposed by a federal judge awaiting a plan on a permanent fix to address overcrowding and other issues.

In a letter dated Tuesday, the commissioners urged the council to adopt the local income tax rate to fund the $300 million jail ahead of the Nov. 1 deadline.

Superior Court Judge Fran Gull says that moving it completely away from the center of the criminal justice system is costly and potentially dangerous.

The lawsuit recounts the timeline leading up to 18-year-old Ariona Darling's suicide in her jail cell.

Allen County officials say it is impossible to fund building the new county correctional facility without a tax rate increase. The County Council is now considering what the rate increase will look like.