Joomla Login LightBox powered by WowJoomla.com

Other cities in the county that have endorsed the sales tax include Gladstone, Excelsior Springs, Pleasant Valley, North Kansas City and Claycomo.

If approved by a simple majority, the 12-year sales tax would generate an estimated $3.2 million annually to fund jail operations and for other law enforcement needs.

Those at the press conference held at the Clay County Annex included council members Bill Skaggs, Deb Hermann, Russ Johnson and Ed Ford, who all represent the Northland on the City Council.

Skaggs said passage was important to keep streets and neighborhoods safe.

As an attorney, Ford said he saw firsthand the type of criminals going through the court system.

“Without a place to put the bad guys, they’ll be put out on the street,” Ford said.

Boydston said failure of the ballot measure could have far-reaching repercussions. He said he would have to close parts of the 400-bed jail, forcing the county to house inmates at other detention facilities at a greater cost.

Voters initially approved the sales tax in 1998 to expand and operate the jail. About half the law enforcement sales tax revenue generated goes to pay off bond indebtedness. The bonds will be retired next year.

Boydston said he supported setting aside money now used to pay off the bonds for future capital improvement needs such as a new roof for the jail, which he said would cost an estimated $300,000.

Boydston said he was not aware of any organized opposition to the sales tax extension.

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed