Clay County Commissioner and Retired Police Chief Jay
Johnson's assessment of the Liberty Public Safety Sales Tax that is on the
April 8th ballot.
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| Commissioner Johnson |
The Liberty Mayor and City Council are asking the voters to
approve a full one cent sales tax for public safety (PSST). They claim it will
bring in $7.5 million more tax dollars a year, with $6 million dedicated to
“competitive salaries” for police/fire and $1.5 million dedicated for “service
on 20 year bonds” to pay for police department renovations. There is no sunset
on this tax and nothing that actually requires any of the money to be spent on
public safety or prevent supplanting.
To my surprise, Liberty ALREADY has a 1/2 cent Public Safety
Sales Tax that generates approximately $4.5 million a year, plus a 1/4 cent
Fire Sales Tax that generates over $2 million a year, each with no sunset.
An additional 1% sales tax will bring PSST in Liberty to
1.75% total - making it possibly the highest public safety sales tax in the
nation with no end date and bringing total sales tax in Liberty to nearly 10%
on all purchases!
In 2017, the Liberty City Council told the taxpayers they
needed a 1/2 cent PSST to pay for increased salaries for police/fire and add
more positions. They claimed the sales tax would generate $2.5 million a year.
That tax now generates approximately $4.5 million a year and growing every
year. It also appears the city has not even expended all the revenue generated
by the PSST on public safety for several years.
Without adding a new PSST, here is what the current $4.5
million generated in PSST can do for public safety:
New police/firefighters make about $55,000 a year (way too
low). Add 30% to that salary for total compensation (all other benefits such at
health, dental, retirement, etc.) means about $71,500 is needed for a new
police officer/firefighter. With just $2 million, Liberty could hire 28 new
police officers/firefighters! The other $2.5 million could give ALL our current
police/firefighters a nearly $22,000 raise each! (I believe there are 114 total
- 49 police and 65 firefighters from the chiefs on down.) That would bring
starting salaries to over $75,000 a year, which is where they should and can be
without new taxes! This would also make them one of the highest paid in the
region/state, eliminating the hiring-crisis cry because of low pay.
The question is, why hasn't the city council spent the
current PSST on public safety staffing and pay, as outlined above? The promise
was made that the PSST from 2017 would not supplant the general fund money
already going to public safety - in other words, the PSST would be added to the
police/fire budgets for MORE staffing and higher salaries only. That was the
will of the voters in 2017, but for some reason has not happened.
I recently heard the mayor talk about the need for new fire
trucks, which I do not doubt, and that a new PSST would help pay for those.
Well, the PSST is suppose to be dedicated to public safety salaries and
increased staffing levels, not to supplant other funds to redirect other
places, including for equipment. Liberty also has a 1/2 cent sales tax for
capital improvements (firetrucks, remodeling stations, etc) that also brings in
$4.5 million a year. Additionally, new police/fire equipment could be purchased
with the nearly $1 million a year being generated by the marijuana tax and
expired TIF that has been dedicated to public safety.
According to the city website, “When voters approved the
Public Safety Sales Tax in 2017, the City Council committed to maintaining the
existing General Fund support for both the Police and Fire Departments. Since
then, that funding has not only been maintained, but the City Council, with
voter approval, also dedicated all funds from the recreational marijuana tax to
public safety as well as new revenues that resulted after TIF bonds were paid
off in 2021.” Those additional funds bring in approximately $1 million a year
and continue to grow - that should buy some shiny new fire trucks and police
cars for years to come.
In all fairness, public safety is more than just police
officers and firefighters. It includes the non-sworn support staff such as
dispatchers, records clerks, administrative staff, etc., who are critical to
police/fire operations. They, too, should be included in the staffing and
salary increases generated by the current PSST and Fire Sales Tax.
I believe public safety is at the core of our free society.
The government's first priority is to ensure our public safety, including FIRST
fully funding our public safety departments before anything else. I got into
politics because I cannot stand politics or the political games and dishonesty
that exist with many elected officials. I see firsthand how easy it is for
politicians to spend other people's money (that is certainly not a direct
attack on Liberty city council members, as the only one I even know is
Councilman Graham and I have a tremendous amount of respect for him). I believe
it needs to be spent more efficiently and only on necessity - let the taxpayers
keep as much as possible.
In the past two years, Clay County has increased sheriff
deputy pay by 39% (with a potential raise coming again in a couple months),
broke ground on a new law enforcement regional training facility, and added two
new assistant prosecutors, all while REDUCING the county property tax levy - no
new taxes. We need ALL of our law enforcement and public safety personnel to be
the priority in all our cities in Clay County. That’s what helps make Clay
County such a great county! If more taxes are desired for other purposes, then
those other purposes should be put to a vote of the people. Public safety
should not be used as the excuse to increase taxes and then divert them
somewhere else.
If anyone has any questions, comments, or corrections to my comments, I will respond to any reasonable arguments or requests for more information. I am more than willing to be proven wrong and will admit if I am. Thank you.
FB LINK: https://www.facebook.com/ChiefJayJohnson
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