JESUP -- City business will remain without a permanent home after a majority of residents voted against $1.3 million in bonds for a joint City Hall and police station.

A referendum Tuesday failed by a margin of 96 yes votes to 481 no, according to unofficial results from the Buchanan County Auditor's Office.

The plan called for a 5,500-square-foot facility situated on the existing City Hall site at Young and Sixth streets.

The wide margin of failure shocked city officials, but they tried to stay positive.

"We regroup and we present the plan again," Mayor Jake Speigel said. "That's all we can do."

Officials moved out of City Hall in October 2007 after structural architects from InVision Architecture deemed the building was unsafe. The building had a second story at one time, which had been removed. That, and other changes, caused the ceiling to droop. The foundation also is crumbling, causing the floor to sag as well.

City business transferred into a portable building owned by the Jesup School District. A citizens committee then formed to determine the future home of city government, and it was that plan residents voted on Tuesday.

Councilman Dick Quackenbush, who made the motion to form the citizen's group, said he was a bit surprised by the numbers. But he reasoned the message to council members is clear.

"We have some work to do," he said.

Some residents were upset at the size of the proposed structure compared to the existing City Hall, which covers about 3,000 square feet. He said other factors, like the economic downturn and effects of recent natural disasters, also contributed to the end result.

The biggest problem, though, may boil down to taxes. If approved, the plan would have increased property taxes by $1.80 per $1,000 of assessed taxable valuation.

"It's a big chunk of change and it was really going to hit business owners," Quackenbush said.

Voters, however, approved a second question on the referendum. That measure allows 60 percent of local option sales tax revenues to be diverted from water and sewer improvements to capital improvements.

The money could be used to help pay for a new City Hall, but officials must have the money up front to pay for construction. That would take more than a decade to save enough to pay for the building.

Officials will likely have to revisit plans for a building to find out if anything should change, Quackenbush said. The citizen's committee may also be involved at some point, but that's all yet to be determined.

"At this point, I have no idea what will happen," Quackenbush said.

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