THE $800 MILLION QUESTION: How Williamson County’s “New Jail” Became Texas’ Next Big Prison Boondoggle

THE $800 MILLION QUESTION:
How Williamson County’s “New Jail” Became Texas’ Next Big Prison Boondoggle

By LeRoy Nellis

A Billion-Dollar Rumor, an $800 Million Reality

When whispers of a $1.2 billion “mega jail” started floating through Williamson County earlier this year, few residents took it seriously.  But behind the rumor was a real, very expensive plan — one that county leaders have quietly nurtured for years: to relocate and rebuild the Williamson County Jail and Justice Center at a cost now projected between $600 million and $800 million.

It’s a project still without a shovel in the ground, a site locked down, or voter approval — yet it has already consumed millions of taxpayer dollars in contracts, feasibility studies, and “transition management” deals.  The county calls it Phase 1.  Critics call it a blank check.

The Pitch: “We’re Running Out of Room”

County officials frame the proposal as an inevitability.  The existing jail in Georgetown, built in 1989 and expanded in 2003, has bed space for roughly 1,104 inmates, with an average daily population hovering near 600.  According to the Sheriff’s Office, population growth could push capacity limits within the next six to eight years.

Judge Steven Snell and Commissioner Valerie Covey have publicly described the need for “a forward-looking justice hub” — a combined courthouse, jail, and sheriff’s campus designed for another generation of county growth.  The problem: no one agrees on how big, how soon, or how expensive.

The Florence Land Fight

In July 2025, county commissioners debated whether to spend $7 million to secure 481 acres off Highway 195 in Florence for the new complex.  The motion failed.

Judge Snell and Commissioner Russ Boles voted against the deal, citing unanswered logistical questions — including whether building outside Georgetown violates state code requiring county jails to be located in the county seat.  Commissioners Covey and Cynthia Long voted for it.  The split left the project stalled and the public divided.

Yet the county continues to pay consultants to “study” the very same site.  A $14 million contract with project-management firm Kitchell was approved earlier this year to oversee planning, design, and transition work.  Another $400,000 in the 2025 county budget is earmarked for “justice center master planning.”

When critics asked why millions were being spent before a site or price tag was set, officials described it as “strategic positioning.”

The Real Numbers

Even by Texas standards, the Williamson County proposal is staggering.

| Category | Estimated Cost | Source |
|–|-|–|
| Jail + Justice Center (Full Relocation) | $600 – $800 million | County presentations & Community Impact, July 2025 |
| “Up to” Scenario (Expanded Scope) | $715 million + | Wilco Sun reporting, May 2025 |
| Juvenile Justice Center Expansion (Separate) | $90 million | Wilco Gov, Jan 2025 |
| Project Management Contract (Kitchell) | $14 million | Commissioners’ minutes, Feb 2025 |
| Land Acquisition Attempt (Florence) | $7 million | Commissioners’ agenda, July 2025 |
| Planning Allocation (FY 2025 Budget) | $400,000 | CBSAustin, Sept 2024 |

Add it all together — including anticipated design, utilities, and inflation contingencies — and the cost could easily exceed three-quarters of a billion dollars, placing it among the most expensive local government projects in Texas history.

The Oversight Void

Despite the magnitude of the spending, there has been no independent fiscal audit or third-party needs assessment released to the public.  Meeting minutes show repeated executive-session briefings and closed-door “legal consultations” under Texas Government Code §551.071 — exemptions often used to discuss real-estate deals out of public view.

The county’s own debt capacity already exceeds $900 million in outstanding obligations.  Adding another $700 million-plus could require a voter-approved bond or years of incremental certificates of obligation — debt instruments that do not require voter approval.  Either route locks taxpayers into decades of repayment.

“Build It and They Will Fill It”

Local civil-rights groups and criminal-justice reform advocates warn that overbuilding jail capacity inevitably increases incarceration rates — not because of crime surges, but because available beds encourage longer pre-trial detentions and higher bail schedules.

“Every time a county builds a bigger jail, the jail population goes up,” says one reform advocate from Austin’s Texas Jail Project.  “It’s supply-side incarceration.”

Opponents also question why the county isn’t expanding diversion programs, mental-health units, or electronic-monitoring options instead of investing hundreds of millions in concrete and steel.

The Narrative Problem

Williamson County has a reputation for being “tough on crime.”  The DA’s office routinely touts conviction rates above 95 percent — most secured through plea deals.  But a justice system measured by throughput instead of rehabilitation feeds directly into jail overuse.

If the new complex is approved, Williamson County could soon own more detention beds per capita than any other Central Texas county — at a time when national trends point toward decarceration and bail reform.

What Comes Next

As of October 2025:

– No construction contract has been approved.
– No final site has been purchased.
– Cost estimates remain unofficial and fluid.
– Millions in planning and management fees have already been spent.

The county continues to operate under the guise of “Phase 1,” a bureaucratic limbo where large checks are written but tangible progress remains invisible.

The Bottom Line

The so-called “New Williamson County Jail” is not yet a building — it’s an accounting exercise, a future debt bomb wrapped in the language of growth management.  If built, it could cost every household in the county thousands of dollars over the next generation.

The public deserves straight answers:
– Why spend millions before selecting a site? 
– Why discuss relocation outside the county seat when state law forbids it? 
– Why plan for a facility that could double current capacity when the jail is only half full today? 

Until those questions are answered in daylight, the $800 million question remains: 
Who exactly is this jail for — the inmates of tomorrow, or the contractors of today?

Sources: Community Impact (July 15 2025); KVUE (March 2025); Wilco Sun (May 2025); FOX 7 Austin (Feb 2025); Williamson County Budget FY 2025; Wilco Gov News (Jan 31 2025).