The tally, as of Wednesday afternoon, was 46.29 percent for the proposal and 53.71 percent against after some 36,000 votes had been counted.
Pueblo County’s commissioners in September put the sales tax increase before voters, hoping to generate revenue over some 30 years to cover the estimated $150 million needed to build a new jail and transform the current detention center into a state-of-the-art detoxification and health facility .
The increase — nine-twentieths of a cent — was estimated to generate roughly $10.6 million of new annual revenue starting next year if passed.
“I do know at some point we will be forced legally to deal with this,” Pueblo County Commissioner Garrison Ortiz said in a written statement. “One of the largest issues we have needed to tackle in county government is and has been the county jail.”
A showed that among Colorado’s 10 largest counties, Pueblo County’s is the most overcrowded county jail, operating at an average of 145 percent above capacity.
The study also found conditions at the facility are putting detention deputies’ and inmates’ safety at risk and exacerbating the jail’s overall aging conditions.
Officials estimate the 1980s-era facility could cost the county nearly $147 million by 2024 if current conditions continue.
Beyond problems at the jail, Pueblo has rate of fatal in .