Countywide

The San Diego County Grand Jury has added its voice to the chorus calling for a massive program of jail building to meet crushing demands on existing jails.

In a letter to the county Board of Supervisors released Monday, the jurors endorsed an array of new taxes that they said would raise $740 million for jail and court construction and operations over the next five years.

“The essence of the jail overcrowding problem is simply the lack of money with which to construct and operate new jails,” the grand jury said.

The jurors’ largest single fund-raising proposal is a half-cent sales tax increase, like one that won majority approval from county voters in November but fell short of the two-thirds vote required for adoption. The jurors said they also favored a state constitutional amendment reducing the electoral margin required for tax increases to a simple majority in “emergency situations.”

The grand jury also endorsed a 1% tax on utility bills, a business license tax projected to bring in $1 million, surcharges on court and traffic fines, and state funding of trial courts.