Jail tax: ‘I think it should be a vote of the people’

HAMILTON -  Implementing ways to fund the Marion County Jail was the topic of discussion as county attorney Scott Hunt provided a bond update pertaining to the new Marion County Jail building during the Marion County Commission’s special-called meeting on Wednesday, July 24, in Hamilton.
County commissioners have the ability to ask Alabama legislators for permission to implement a one-cent sales tax in order to raise funds to build the new Marion County Jail. But, Marion County District 2 Commissioner Kenneth Cochran expressed his belief that the people of Marion County should be able to have the final say on whether or not a new tax is enforced.
“I think it should be a vote of the people. This is their jail, it’s their county,” said Cochran.