JESUP -- A close vote is expected in Tuesday's referendum in Jesup on whether to build a new city hall.

Some home owners are concerned the proposed $1.3 million bond will create a tax burden.

City officials contend they need a city hall building and funding sources like local option sales tax money aren't feasible.

According to city estimates, property taxes would go up $66 to $100 a year for a house valued at $100,000 depending on the amortization period of the bond. For commercial property of the same value, taxes would be $150 to $241 a year, according to the Jesup City Clerk's office.

The old city hall was vacated nearly a year ago after structural engineers determined it was uninhabitable. Past changes in the building and a crumbling foundation caused the ceiling to sag and floors to droop.

City business has been moved to a portable building owned by the Jesup School District. A citizens committee recommended a new building.

Mayor Jake Spiegel said some have criticized the new building plans' cost. He said many would like to see the amount cut in half or let the city save up more instead of increasing taxes.

"The problem we run into is how cheap do you make the building, and still have it serve the 50-, 75-, 100-year duration of its lifespan?" Spiegel said.

Former Councilman Roger Thomas said it's important the city gets a new city hall.

"People don't want their taxes raised, but if they're going to have things, its going to cost too," he said.

Thomas said a recent editorial by the Jesup Citizen-Herald publisher Kim Adams may affect opinions in town. In his editorial, Adams said the bond amount was "too much money to spend on what is essentially office space."

Adams and others pointed to a second question on the ballot -- changing how local option sales tax money is allocated as a possible source of funding for a new hall.

Spiegel said that wouldn't be possible. The tax generates between $85,000 to $100,000 a year, he said. The city would have to save up for an entire decade to get enough for the building. In that time, he said, the amount needed could increase.

That's what happened when voters approved $4.5 million in bonds in August 2007 for a new Buchanan County Jail, Spiegel noted. After two rounds of bidding, the costs are higher than expected and county supervisors have cut an entire floor from that project.

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., Tuesday, at the Jesup Public Library.

Contact Josh Nelson at (319) 291-1565 or josh.nelson@wcfcourier.com.