Antelope Co. Sheriff considers options after new jail proposal - KTIV News 4 Sioux City IA: News, Weather and Sports

Voters in Antelope County, Nebraska have turned down a proposal for a property tax hike to pay for a new jail.

That money will now have to come out of the county operating budget.  Officials say this could mean less money for other needs.

Antelope County Sheriff Robert Moore says the current county jail is behind on repairs, and often gets overcrowded.

Moore thinks as a result of the failed proposal, the new county jail could be smaller.  However, he has mixed emotions, because it was hard to ask voters to raise their taxes.

"It's been sleepless nights, I'm not going to lie because I understand the impact to the taxpayers of Antelope County but I also understand I had three entities, the fire marshals office, jail standards, and the county insurance carrier that was definitely prodding us, we had to do something," Sheriff Robert Moore said."

The current jail facility has about 11 beds, the new one could have between 24 to 30 beds. The County is still hoping to get the project completed by fall of 2014.