Rockwall County commissioners this week voted to build a $30 million courts building on the site where voters twice rejected a $29 million government center.

Commissioners in a 3-2 vote decided to issue limited tax notes, which don't require voter approval, to plan and build the 117,000-square-foot building on county-owned land at T.L. Townsend Drive and Interstate 30.

The Rockwall County Courts Facility will be 35,000 square feet smaller and cost $1 million more than the government center defeated by voters in 2004 and 2005.

County Judge Chris Florance said officials could wait no longer because they need the space and construction costs are rising 9 percent a year.

"We felt like we needed to make some hard decisions, so we did," he said. "We're going to save the taxpayers millions and millions by getting a building out of the ground now."

Commissioner Lorie Grinnan said the public needed more say in the decision-making process.

"We need to build a consensus in the community," she said.

Commissioners Bruce Beaty, who will leave office Jan. 1, and Jerry Wimpee voted with Mr. Florance. Ms. Grinnan and Commissioner David Magness voted no.

The No Higher Taxes Group says the decision ignores the will of the voters. Mary Lou Hawkins-Curtis said group members are researching ways to stop the project.

"The phone's been ringing off the hook all morning long with people wanting to sign a recall petition or file a lawsuit," she said. "If it can be done, it will be done."

The state district court and county court at law, the district and county clerks and the district attorney occupy the current Government Center on Ridge Road, which officials purchased in 1995 as a temporary courthouse.

Over the years, the number of court cases and people visiting the building has steadily increased. The county fire marshal says the building has too few exits and hallways that are too narrow, Mr. Florance said. "It was never designed to handle the volume of people that were going through there."

State District Judge Brett Hall said the space is functional but tight, and the county is likely to need another district court within two years.

"As we continue to grow, we'll need more room," he said. "But it's the commissioners' job to decide how."

The $29 million government center rejected by voters would have housed the courts and consolidated other county offices in one building designed to meet needs through 2015.

Supporters said county residents failed to understand how dire the space shortage was. Opponents objected to the cost and the location – prime real estate along I-30 that would be removed from tax rolls.

Voters approved bonds for a county library that will open in September on part of the land. Plans for the court building leave land along the interstate access road for possible sale or commercial development, Mr. Florance said.

Ms. Grinnan said she had been looking for alternative sites. She also said issuing limited tax notes should be reserved for emergencies, such as natural disasters.

Mr. Florance said the $30 million debt will add 2 cents to the county tax rate of 35 cents per $100 of property value. The owner of a $190,900 home, the average last year, would pay an additional $38.18 a year.

Commissioners plan to put a $100 million road bond plan before voters in November. That debt and existing debt would add an additional 4 cents to the tax rate, or $76.36 to the average homeowner's bill.

The 6-cent increase would be phased in over three years, Judge Florance said. The amount could decrease if the county receives better than expected interest rates on debt or if the county's population grows faster than predicted and spreads the tax burden among more people.

Ms. Hawkins-Curtis said officials are banking on property value increases and population growth that may not continue, given the sluggish economy.

"All of us, especially those on fixed incomes, are scared," she said. "It's really sad to watch these people take money and take money and take money when the economy is so bad."