Passions flared at an open forum to discuss the Eau Claire County Jail referendum options on Sunday afternoon.

"Which number should I believe?” asked one concerned man, after hearing new data from the Citizens Advisory Referendum Committee.

The Citizens Advisory Referendum Committee is a privately organized group. It’s comprised of members from the Eau Claire County Board, City Council, and other community activists. They presented their facts and figures Sunday on what they say could be "cost saving measures" for the off-site county jail option.

"The county says it will cost $59.1 million to build on site, and it will cost $108 mil to build offsite, and we think this created a major distortion,” says retired Certified Public Accountant and City Council Member Bob Von Haden.

Von Haden says he worked with information from county officials to arrive at his own estimates.
He says if re-evaluated, an off-site jail would cost $60.6 million, in comparison to the Baker-Tilly report estimates the county has been using.

Some people at the meeting say the group did not achieve its objective by making it more clear and definitive about how much a new jail would cost.

"I thought there were a lot of numbers being used,” says Marty Green, one of the organizers of Downtown MAJEC, which wants to keep the justice center downtown. “I thought it was a good exercise but I would have liked to see the panel include people like Sheriff Cramer and people who have worked on the project for nearly 10 years and believe in the downtown area."

The referendum ballot won't contain any numbers. But as Election Day approaches, people on both sides say—like it or not—the decision most likely will come down to a numbers game.

"If we're going to spend the money, it should be done right,” says CARC panelist John Prince.

Sunday's meeting was not run officially through the Eau Claire County Board.

The referendum on April 6th, with choices of a downtown or offsite options, will be advisory only.
The decision won't be final.