Madison Reporter

Joe Parisi, Dane County executive, is trying to make progress on a jail consolidation project. 

Dane County was preparing to work on the project, but officials do not want to design it before they are sure that funding has been secured, according to WKOW. The cost is currently over the amount of funds dedicated for the full and redesigned project. Consultants recently shared an estimate of the actual cost of the entire project.

"In short, if the County Board and sheriff wish to proceed with the modified jail project as the board previously approved, it will need to add approximately $9.8 million to the project budget or make further reductions in design, or a combination of the two," Parisi said in a letter to the county's Board of Supervisors. 

He is hesitant to move forward with the project.

"It would be imprudent to design a project before knowing whether the funding needed to complete it is available," Parisi said. 

The estimated cost of the project is now $190.1 million –  a surge of $20 million from the original estimate. A charge of $16 million was added during a March meeting, creating a total of $165.9 million, WKOW reported.

Before proceeding with designing the modified project, Parisi said two members of the board need to make a change order.

The board will have a chance to debate a new resolution drafted by Parisi's staff. This would include the change order and the additional borrowing that is necessary to complete the project. The board will vote at an August 18 meeting. They will need three-fourths of board members to vote their approval in order to finalize borrowing in the fall.