Orange County will be applying next year for a federal grant to build a new jail. Sheriff Bobby Smith this week told Commissioners Court about the Bridging Immigration-related Deficits Experienced Nationwide grant under the U.S. Department of Justice.
Terms of the grant include the county must agree to cooperate with immigration authorities like ICE. Congress approved the grants under President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill.
County Judge John Gothia said he asked Sheriff Smith to search for grants to build a new jail because the county cannot afford to pay for one. He said voters would reject a bond issue for the county to borrow money for the new jail.
Sheriff Smith told the commissioners about the federal grant, which started this year. The 2026 application deadline was two months ago. He said Orange County could apply when applications are opened in 2027.
He said the county will not need matching funds, but will need to pay for an engineering study. Comments from the sheriff and the county judge show that cost could be $100,000 to $150,000.
The sheriff said he will ask for a jail to hold 500 inmates and the current jail holds 350 inmates. Part of the current jail-sheriff’s office complex was built in 1976, with its first addition in 1984, plus others since.
Earlier this year, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards did its annual inspection of the Orange County Jail. The sheriff’s office reported the jail commission pointed out things that needed to be fixed before 2027 or the jail may not pass inspection the next time. Under Texas law, the jail commission can limit the number of inmates held in a jail, or under extreme conditions, close a jail.
If those things happen, Orange County would need to house inmates in another county and pay that county to house them.
Sheriff Smith said he recommends a new jail be built along FM 1442, where the sheriff’s office has 17 acres, with some of the land used as a shooting range. The county has been moving a number of offices to FM 1442 because it is more centrally located than the county seat.
In other business, Judge Gothia said he should have the county’s final 2026-27 budget completed so Commissioners Court will vote on it next week. The new budget year starts October 1.
The county is proposing a tax rate of 48 cents per $100 valuation, a decrease of a penny from the current rate of 49 cents per $100.
The county’s East Roundbunch Road swing bridge had to be closed to vehicle traffic on Monday, but was open by Tuesday afternoon. Precinct 3 Commissioner Kirk Roccaforte said it was the first time in a year the bridge had to close. The county did major repairs on the bridge’s mechanisms in the past couple of years. Roccaforte said the recent closing was because of problems caused last week by Tropical Storm Edouard.
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