Butler County taxpayers now know that the total cost of building the new county prison will be at least $41.4 million, up $11.4 million from the original estimate of $30 million. That new figure was confirmed at Tuesday's prison board meeting.

What the taxpayers — and county leaders — don't know is what the final figure will be. And, most importantly, apparently no one yet knows whether there will be enough money on hand to finish the work in the way it originally was planned.

At Tuesday's meeting, Controller Jack McMillin alluded to what he described as the project's worst scenario, the county running out of money.

The county is paying for the project with borrowed funds, and the loan for the project isn't open-ended.

A possible hint of the having-enough-money concerns came in the announcement that the county commissioners would be advertising for bids for just 400 inmate mattresses, when the prison is to have space for 512 inmates.

By not buying enough mattresses to fully outfit the prison, this county will be limiting its ability to house "overflow" prisoners from other counties — a housing arrangement that would earn money for the county, just like other counties are benefiting from the current Butler County prison space shortage.

It's also safe to assume that the remaining 112 mattresses will cost more in a year or two than they would cost now.

Therefore, the county will be losing money on two fronts.

Among other questions is whether the county budgeted too low for prison furniture when it set the figure at $401,553.

"Is that a realistic number? The answer is no," said Sheriff Dennis Rickard.

Likewise, there are other significant financial uncertainties that could end up taking a big toll on taxpayers in coming years, especially the final costs tied to lawsuits stemming from the prison construction, the final bill for resolving parking issues, and construction of a sallyport behind the government center to provide a secure entrance for bringing prisoners into the courthouse for proceedings.

The project continues to exude confirmation of inept planning, virtually from the project get-go.

And future news about the project doesn't portend to be much more positive, with Commissioner Dale Pinkerton, who wasn't a county official when the project planning was under way, already having said that he hopes the final prison project cost won't be above $45 million.

Unfortunately, all considered, the possibility exists for a final figure well above that.

But the troubling reality is that no one really has a clue regarding the financial twists and turns that the project could take before construction finally ends — and possibly even afterward.

From a financial perspective, the project is a nagging boil whose pain is intensifying as its size increases.