Carl Junction city officials place half-cent public safety sales tax proposal on November ballot

(From the Carl Junction Police Department)

The City has made a decision to ask for a 1/2 cent Public Safety sales tax on the November ballot.This tax will be used for the Police budget only.

I want to say that the City has been very understanding about the Police Department budget, but the Police Department does take a large percentage of the total City budget and we are not the only need for our citizens..

I wanted to share information with you, not to tell you how to vote, but to let you know the situation that has arisen to ask for this to be placed on the ballot. 

The Police Department is a full service agency authorized for 12 officers. We have not been able to fill an open spot with a choice employee for sometime. We have offered the position to two good candidates who chose to go to an agency that pays more money. The citizens of this town deserve the best officers and to be frank, we are not competitive in wages at this time.

The City operates on a limited budget and we have two patrol cars that should be replaced, due to mileage and use. The City is limited in budget an the decision was made to replace only one car this year. Both of these cars will have in excess of 100,000 miles with an additional operating hours that would put a normal car in the 150,000 mile range.

We are also in need of an update to the radio system. This system is 15 plus years old. It is still functioning, but it will not talk to some area agencies. The goal in the future is to go to the Statewide radio system. This will be an expense in excess of $100,000, but a necessary expense.

Due to the virus, community gatherings are discouraged, but I would be glad to meet with anyone who wants to discuss this issue individually. Please call the Station at 649-7070 and make an appointment.

This is for information only, please vote how you feel on every ballot question, but please vote.