Oconee County Council is doing the right thing in putting all options on the table as it begins deliberations on how best to solve the county’s jail overcrowding crisis.

Council members received a report Tuesday evening outlining three possible scenarios, with price tags ranging from $15.5 to $20 million. The consultants’ report offered solutions that would take care of Oconee’s projected corrections needs through 2030. The current, terribly-overcrowded facility is 31 years old.

Members of Council questioned the consultants carefully and showed openness to a number of conventional and innovative possibilities. That’s a good and necessary start. Spending of this magnitude must not occur without a thorough fleshing out of options involving public dollars, partnerships, privatization and other ideas.

Turf control should not be on the table. It matters not where the jail is located and under whose control it falls, so long as the county’s legal responsibilities to its citizens and inmates are met in a safe and efficient manner. That said, the idea of a regional facility serving Oconee, Pickens and Anderson counties is an idea worth exploring. It may or may not work, but we’re glad Council Chairman Reg Dexter plans to bring it up during a meeting with Pickens and Anderson county council chairmen on Friday.

The same thing goes for privatization. There are a number of well-run companies with good track records in the private prisons business. Maybe they can save Oconee County several million dollars. Let’s hear their ideas.

Without doubt, there is a sense of urgency to address the Walhalla jail’s deficiencies and Oconee County’s exposure due to neglect. It must be done after a complete examination of the best and most cost-effective means, however, with taxpayer dollars, inmate safety and humane conditions, and long-term viability in mind.

We encourage Council to charge Oconee’s interim administrator and other appropriate staff to do additional research and move ahead with this project. Oconee’s current jail is a time bomb of issues waiting to explode. The clock is ticking.