Proposed Tax Would Fund Police and Fire

The City Council may put a new tax to pay for police and fire protection on the ballot next June.

The tax proposal is a response to an expected $350,000 budget shortfall caused by the passage of Proposition 218 last November. The ballot measure not only restricts cities’ abilities to raise taxes but puts some established assessments and taxes before the voters next year.

Councilman Harry Dotson said that unless something like the proposed law enforcement tax is enacted, city officials may have no choice but to cut the budget for police and firefighters. The council has few choices because the city has done everything in its power in recent years to save money, Dotson said.

The city bureaucracy has been reduced and many city services have been privatized. Some important projects, such as street repairs and park improvements, have also been put on hold, Dotson said.

So far, public safety is the one part of the budget that has been spared, he said.

“We have got to have some money coming in,” Dotson said. “What are we going to do if someone’s house burns down and we don’t have the firefighters to respond?”