Jail costs driving tax hikes in Lubbock

According to the Lubbock Avalanche Journal ("Lubbock County jail costs may sharpen tax bite," July 25), taxpayers in the Hub City must pay higher taxes to keep the county jail full and fully staffed:

The Lubbock County sheriff doesn't think the county can support its new jail without raising taxes.

Sheriff David Gutierrez and some of his top staff on Thursday asked county commissioners to allocate more than $20 million dollars to fund the jail, as well as nearly $8 million to support the county's law enforcement division.

"I don't know how you can do anything with this budget if you don't do something with taxes," Gutierrez told commissioners.