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That’s why the Board of County Commissioners has proposed redirecting an existing quarter-cent countywide sales tax for the Aug. 5 election.
If it is approved, the county’s portion of the revenue would be dedicated to capital and operating costs related to public-safety programs such as:
•Constructing and operating a new crime laboratory for the sheriff’s office.
•Building and operating a new juvenile services complex.
•Supporting a jail expansion and paying for its future operational costs.
Our courts, jails, crime lab and juvenile justice programs serve all Johnson Countians, regardless where they live.
Renewal of this existing sales tax is the best solution to sustaining public safety. The $19.6 million in county funds annually generated by the tax will provide dedicated funding to help effectively plan for future public-safety capital needs, and to finance public safety operations that meet our citizens’ needs and expectations.
Our incarceration rates have skyrocketed in recent years, leading to overcrowded jails. Over the past two decades Johnson County’s population hasn’t quite doubled. But during that same time, the daily inmate population in our jails has more than tripled, resulting in increased prisoner farm-outs to other jails.
In 2007, our average daily in-house population was 863 inmates; 341 — or almost 40 percent — were farmed out to other facilities.
Visitors account for roughly one-third of all sales tax revenue collected in Johnson County. This tax rightfully shares the growing financial responsibility for public safety services between residents and visitors, versus putting the burden solely on Johnson County property owners.
There is no end — no sunset, if you will — to the operating costs associated with the services and programs provided through these public safety facilities.
As the countywide elected chairman of the Johnson County Commission, I urge you to vote for this sales tax renewal for public safety.
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