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Introducing a tax issue is never a popular move, especially during an economic downturn. The move to place an issue on the Nov. 3 ballot asking for a 12-year extension of the one-eighth-cent Clay County law enforcement sales tax, though, is necessary and right.

Passage of the issue will allow for the continuation of centralized detention center operations as well as specialized law enforcement programs that serve communities throughout the county, not just in rural areas. There would also be a funding source for infrastructure and equipment needs, which will only continue to grow as the detention center continues to age and changes occur in the jail population.

The current one-eighth-cent law enforcement sales tax, which generates close to $3.2 million a year, expires at the end of June 2010.

Failure to pass the issue could force the county to close up to two floors of the jail, according to Sheriff Bob Boydston. It is easy to see then how some prisoners, who normally would be incarcerated, could be placed on probation and in neighborhoods because of limited space in the county’s detention center.

Municipalities in all likelihood would be forced to once again find housing for their inmates at outlying detention centers. That’s not a wise use of the people’s resources, financially or in terms of personnel.

The impact of the issue failing would extend to the county’s general operations fund, which currently provides additional funding for law enforcement operations. A need to fund more direct core law enforcement operations would undoubtedly affect the ability to deliver other basic services for county residents.

The delivery of those basic services, though, could be solidified with passage of the issue. The reason being that after 2010, a portion of the law enforcement sales tax will no longer be needed to pay off the bonds used for the expansion of the original detention center. This will, in turn, lessen the need for assistance from the general fund.

That doesn’t lessen the need, though, for continued fiscal responsibility.

A portion of the revenue currently being used to pay off the bonds should be dedicated each year to capital needs. If the revenue isn’t spent in a given year, it should be placed in a reserve fund for when larger needs arise, which they undoubtedly will.

We’d also suggest an advisory oversight committee made up of residents throughout the county to review significant expenditures from the law enforcement sales tax to ensure revenue is being spent as intended.

While the sheriff already has plans for such a committee in place, the County Commission needs to take the leading role here in forming this group, as the commission has the final say in expenditures.

Having the final say on the issue will be voters, who will go to the polls Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Voters need to approve this issue to continue the sense of security found in Clay County while providing a stable foundation for law enforcement operations during the next 12 years.

Comments (1)

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written by MJ, October 30, 2009

I do not support this tax. Our county government has no respect for taxpayers' money. They keep suing each other and continuously find new ways to be inefficient and to waste my money. Our sheriff and county commission can't stop fighting long enough to accomplish anything.
Every household and business in the U.S. is having to find ways to be leaner and more efficient with their money. When Clay County runs out of money, the commission just raises our taxes without a vote like they did a couple of years ago.
I realize this issue is a renewal of an existing tax, but until I see a remarkable change in our county leadership's behavior, I will not vote to give them a dime more of my hard-earned money to the clowns running our county.

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