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The 45 days starts after the notice to sell bonds is published in the Sanilac County News, which is the newspaper of general circulation for the county board. The commissioners agreed they should also go to the expense of publishing the notice in the other six newspapers published in the county in the interest of informing the public.

The petitions must be signed by not less than 10% of the registered voters, which amounts to 3,000 people in Sanilac County, and filed with the county clerk

If enough valid petitions are filed, the county cannot issue the bonds without the approval of the majority of the voters in a general or special election.

Clerk Linda Kozfkay noted the next step is to seek construction bids if there is no referendum.

On Monday, the commissioners voted 6-1 to authorize the clerk to publish the notice. Commissioner William Walters voted no because he still does not think it is in the county's best interest to build a jail of that size in order to rent beds to other entities.

The commissioners intend to pay for the jail by renting more beds to federal marshal prisoners than they currently do.

On the advise of their administrator and bond counsel, the commissioners decided to issue limited tax general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed $16.6 millions to pay for the cost of equipping and furnishing the new jail; renovating the existing jail;, and developing and improving the jail site. They will not accept bonds with an interest rate in excess of 7%.

Board members lowered the cap from 8% to 7% at the request of Commissioner Judy Vincent. However, they do not expect the interest rates to be close to 7%. The current rate on 20-year bonds is 4.7 Ð 4.8%, according to Treasurer Kathy Dorman. She has said this was the cheapest way to go.

The bonds will be covered by the full faith and credit of the county's general fund.

Dorman said that means paying off the bonds will be the first priority of the general fund, however, they would not be able to exceed the current millage.

Special millage funds such as the veterans or library millages would not be impacted.

She said the commissioners may back out up to the point they sell the bonds without damaging the county. The commissioners may reject any or all the bids in a competitive sale. They may also negotiate with lenders, for example using Rural Development and a local bank for the bonds. However, the financial advisor and bond counsel recommend a competitive sale.

Dorman and Administrator John Males, who is on medical leave, recommend they sell all the bonds at one time rather than in phases.

"It is a lot of work and expense to issue bonds in phases, however, we did leave it open (to leave the board some flexibility)," she stated.

They would not issue the bonds until after they know how the construction bids come in.

Commissioners have been discussing a possible jail project for about four years. The original proposal called for private financing of a 254-bed facility. The driving force behind the project is the deteriorating condition of the older part of the jail that's more than 50 years old and the need for more security for inmates and corrections officers.

There was some question of whether the board could act on the notice to publicize this week.

Vice-Chairman Donald Hunt asked whether the board could authorize the publication because the bond issue has not gone through the finance committee.

"We passed it at the last board meeting," noted Commissioner Norton Schramm.

"This was to allow bond counsel to write the resolution. I believe it has taken the necessary process. I believe we have done what we have to do," said Chairman John Merriman.

"I did question its appearance (on the July 9 agenda) without going through finance. I was told Mr. Males wanted it on the agenda," said Finance Committee Chairman James Ruby.

"I somewhat agree (with Hunt), but it did go through the board, although he should have had his chance to get it on the table," said Walters.