Jail Tax Goes to Ballot

The County Board of Supervisors officially okayed Measure S for the November ballot, a one-half cent sales tax that would raise money to build and operate a new North County jail facility, as well as generate funds for fire protection, law enforcement, and prevention and intervention programs. The measure, which would raise roughly $30 million a year, needs a two-thirds supermajority to pass. Discussions to build a new jail have gone on for decades, since a court order in the early 1980s.