Overview
- The proposal presented to the Board of Supervisors would replace the roughly 50-year-old Vista Detention Facility and upgrade six other jails at a cost estimated between $720 million and $1 billion.
- Beyond the Vista rebuild, the Sheriff’s Office identified about $289 million in immediate infrastructure needs across the system, citing failing HVAC, plumbing, security gates and blackout-prone camera networks.
- Martinez said a new North County jail would take nine years to complete if work began now and warned costs are rising about 3% annually, calling investment a human dignity and safety issue.
- The board did not vote on funding and will revisit options in February; the board chair highlighted 30-year bond financing that could cost about $60 million annually to service $1 billion in debt.
- The request comes as a class-action lawsuit alleges inadequate care and ADA violations in county jails, with labor voices urging safer, rehabilitative spaces and advocates pressing for decarceration; Martinez plans to seek about $20 million soon to replace Vista’s failing security system.