Grayson County commissioners on Tuesday took the first formal step toward borrowing money to buy land for a future public safety and justice complex, even as a new wing at the existing county jail in Sherman is weeks from opening.
The Commissioners Court approved publishing a notice of intention to issue certificates of obligation, KTEN reported, and the county posted the notice on its website Tuesday. It caps the debt at $8.5 million. KTEN put the figure commissioners are seeking at $8.1 million.
"As our county grows, our criminal population grows with that, so we need to start looking at the future," County Judge Bruce Dawsey told the station.
What happens next
Tuesday's vote did not authorize the debt itself. Under the notice, the court will consider an order approving the certificates at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 8, at the county courtroom, 100 W. Houston St. in Sherman.
The notice lists land for public safety, jail and court facilities, site preparation, design and construction, and public safety vehicles and equipment, including a firetruck for the county airport. It does not name a site. Repayment would come from the county's property tax, with a final maturity no later than Aug. 15, 2047.
Residents who want a say have a path. If the county clerk receives a petition signed by at least 5% of the county's qualified voters before the court authorizes the certificates, the county cannot issue them unless voters approve them in an election, according to the notice.
The jail expansion
The borrowing plan comes as the county finishes a separate project. Ground was broken on a new wing at the Grayson County Jail in 2024, and it will add more than 100 beds, KTEN reported earlier this month. Capt.
