SMITH COUNTY - Another important item on the ballot is the controversal jail bond proposal.

For a very long time, the Smith County Jail has been overcrowded.

Because of the issue, for the past 4 years, Smith County has spent millions of dollars just transporting prisoners to 5 surrounding counties.

Smith County Sheriff J.B. Smith says there is no room in the current Smith County Jail.

If you break it down, that's 82-thousand dollars a year for every single inmate.

Right now, there are nearly 200 inmates taken other places.

That doesn't include gas, employee pay, medical expenses- that's just to name a few.

Sheriff Smith says it's money already spent that could be saved if we had a new jail.

Monday, voters will be asked to decide if they will help finance a 125-million dollar jail bond.

If voters say "yes", the new jail would be a 10-story building that sits on Broadway and Elm.

Included in the 125-million dollar bond is the new jail, fixtures, furniture, an office building, renovations of the old jail and a new building for more rooms.

Commissioners say if financed over 25 years, there'll be a 6-point-6 cent tax to pay for the bond.

For a 100-thousand dollar home, that amounts to 66-dollars.