Warren County supervisors could be going to the state legislature to seek a local and private bill that would allow them to go outside the city to find a site for a new county jail.

A local and private bill is one that allows a county or a city to do something that is different from what is allowed under state law.

Presently, county jails must be located in the county seat, in other words inside the city limits of Vicksburg. If a local and private bill is passed, it would allow the county to go outside the city limits to find a jail site.

However, Board of Supervisors president Richard George said he wants to check with the county’s legislative delegation to see if any bill has already been filed seeking to amend the current law and allow counties to locate jails outside the county seat.

“Some effort is in place to gain some type of relief from the legislature as to site location outside the municipalities,” George said. “If they will vote to give us the opportunity to have control of our own affairs so we only have to do this one time, and if legislation has already been introduced, we may do that. We need to find out.”

But if there are no bills to amend the statute, he said, the county should be ready to go ahead with a local and private bill. The deadline for non-revenue local and private bills is March 24, according to the legislature’s schedule.

“If we’re going to buy a piece of property and spend somewhere between $8 to $12 million for a jail, we need to have the opportunity, at least if we’re going to pay for it, to put it where we think it needs to be for the future of Warren County and Vicksburg.”

While the county has no control over the location of the city limits, he said, “We know the (area’s) topography hasn’t changed. If they annex the entire county, we’ve still got the same hills and hollows.”

“We’re trying to find a place that is suitable and affordable for now and into the future.”

Being told the jail has to be located so far from the courthouse or city hall and in the city limits, George said, does not fit the county’s needs.

“We’ve got to have some relief,” he said, “the city of Vicksburg is not known for exactly usable space at any affordable cost, we’ve proven that.”

Members of the county’s delegation said they were unaware of any bill in the Legislature amending the law affecting the location of the county jail.

He said the supervisors would have to pass a resolution seeking a local and private bill, “And send it over for us to do that, and then pass it through the House and pass it through the Senate” to allow the board to look outside the city for a jail site.

Asked if he would support a local and private bill, State Rep. Alex Monsour, R-Vicksburg, said he wants to make sure the supervisors, Sheriff Martin Pace and the rest of the county’s delegation supported it.

“When we vote on a local and private, the one thing we’re told from the chairman is the whole delegation needs to be for it. We don’t want any dissent, because if there is, we can’t pass it from the floor. We’d have to look at it real close and move forward from there.”

State Rep. Oscar Denton said he would support a local and private bill as long as the supervisors and Board of Mayor and Aldermen all agreed with the bill.

“As long as they’re all on board, I will support them; I won’t do anything to stop it,” he said.

Although discussed for several years, the topic of a new jail regained momentum during a Jan. 31 meeting of the supervisors and the Board of Mayor and Aldermen.

During that meeting, George said the supervisors were evaluating sites, adding they were looking for about 12 to 18 acres of land for the new jail to house city and county prisoners and to allow for expansion in the future.

He said he hoped to see work begin of the jail in 2019, the last year of the present board’s term.

The supervisors Friday received an offer of help from Mayor George Flaggs Jr. to help them with financing or in any other way to expedite building the new jail. The city since 2013 has spent $1.13 million to house city misdemeanor prisoners in out-of-town jails in Issaquena, Copiah, Madison and Jefferson counties.