Before voters decide whether to fund a new headquarters for the Lawrence Police Department, they need as much information as they can get about plans to expand the Douglas County Jail.

The Lawrence City Commission already has agreed to ask voters on Nov. 4 to approve an additional 0.2 percent local sales tax to provide funding for a $28 million police headquarters that would be located near the West Lawrence Interchange of the Kansas Turnpike. During a recent joint meeting of city, county and school district leaders, County Administrator Craig Weinaug also put on the table the need to expand the county jail within about three years. He said it was unlikely that a sales tax increase would be used for the jail project, which more likely would be funded through property tax. County commissioners will have to decide whether or not to seek voter approval for the expansion, Weinaug said, but with so many projects currently on the local agenda, “we want the public to understand there are other projects that are coming…”

Although the public should be grateful for the notice the county is providing, it is disappointing that there was no apparent effort to consider a coordinated approach to the police and jail needs. Maybe there was nothing to be gained by looking at the two projects together, but it would have been nice to at least have the discussion. While many counties of similar size are considering more cooperation between — and even consolidation of — city and county law enforcement agencies, in Douglas County, we seem to be moving in the opposite direction.

It’s too late to have the discussion before the police headquarters vote, but it would be a real service to local voters to have as much information as possible about the jail project before the Nov. 4 ballot. A preliminary report on the project estimates that the 196-bed jail may need to be expanded by about 140 beds, about half of which would be designed to serve inmates in need of mental health treatment. According to Sheriff Ken McGovern the size and cost of the expansion will depend in part on how innovative the community decides to be in providing that treatment.

No cost estimates have been made on the jail expansion, and it’s understandable that it will take some time to work out the details, but it would be helpful for voters to have some idea of the project’s potential cost before casting their ballots on the police headquarters.

In the last few years, major capital projects have been lining up for — and mostly receiving — city tax support. In most cases, those projects have been approved on a case-by-case basis with little consideration to what other needs were looming in the future. This time, local voters know at least one additional major project is lying ahead, and they deserve to have as much information as possible on that project before casting their votes on Nov. 4.