(Editor’s note: This story has been updated with 11 p.m. May 20 election results.)

Early election results show that the Columbia County jail may be safe from closure.

Columbia County voters were asked to renew the existing jail tax levy, which taxes property owners at a rate of 58 cents per $1,000 of assessed value in order to fund jail operations. Without the levy, Columbia County Sheriff Brian Pixley warned that the jail faced imminent closure.

Early results showed 63.9% of voters support the levy as of 11 p.m. May 20.

The jail tax levy was initially passed by voters in 2014, when the jail was likely to close without an additional source of funding. Voters renewed the levy in 2016 and 2020, and it is set to expire June 30, leaving a nearly $3.5 million gap in funding.

Voters recently shot down attempts to raise the tax by 29 cents in May 2024 and 21 cents in November in order to keep up with increasing operational costs, leading the Columbia County Sheriff’s office to ask for another renewal instead.