Jail Project Under Budget, Sales Tax Bill Moves Forward

Hopkins County Judge Robert Newsom says a bill is ready to be filed in Austin to allow the county to fund its’ $16-million jail project with an increase in local sales tax. State Senator Bob Hall will present the bill in the Senate and then State Representative Dan Flynn will do so in the House. Judge Newsom says the project is now only 11 days behind schedule despite 21 bad weather days and should still be finished in October. He says the project is under budget and the judge guesses it may end up several hundred thousand dollars under budget in the end.