Clay County voters on Tuesday will decide whether to renew the county&rsquo;s one-eighth cent sales tax for law enforcement.</p><p>The tax, approved in 1998, has been used to expand the Clay County Detention Center, hire staff, complete renovations and improve jail operations. It generates about $3.2 million a year and is set to expire in 2010.</p><p>The ballot measure calls for a 12-year extension of the tax, which requires a simple majority for renewal. </p><p>Craig Porter, former Clay County eastern commissioner, said renewing the sales tax is critical to the operations of the Sheriff&rsquo;s Department and the detention center.</p><p>&ldquo;It becomes a quality of life issue,&rdquo; said Porter, who along with Jane Quick is leading the effort to renew the sales tax. &ldquo;If we cannot or don&rsquo;t renew the sales tax, than we are going to compromise the quality of life in Clay County.&rdquo;</p><p>Other law enforcement functions also would be affected, Porter said. School resource officers, road patrols, domestic violence programs and disaster response teams would be threatened.</p><p>&ldquo;Whether taxpayers know it or not, the sheriff touches everybody,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The biggest way is keeping criminals in the county jail.&rdquo;</p><p>Porter said a recent outside audit of the law enforcement sales tax, ordered by the County Commission, showed proceeds generated from the tax have been properly used.</p><p>Revenue generated from the sales tax account for almost half of the sheriff&rsquo;s budget.</p><p>&ldquo;If you take that out, there are choices that are not very good,&rdquo; Porter said.</p><p>Jane Quick, wife of Presiding Commissioner Ed Quick, said the economy would make it difficult for the county to make up the money that would be lost if the sales tax is not renewed.</p><p>County officials have said Missouri law requires that the sales tax pay only for law enforcement and operating costs. They also have sought to dispel rumors that a portion of the sales tax proceeds would be used to build a new courtroom division for a new associate circuit judge who would be assigned to Clay County.</p><p>Quick said she was not aware of any organized opposition to the renewal effort. The measure overwhelmingly passed in 1998.</p><p>&ldquo;Most of the groups I have talked understand it is not a new tax and people really care about law enforcement and keeping criminals in jail,&rdquo; she said.</p><p><hr class="infobox-hr-separator" /> <div class="infobox"> <strong><span class="infobox-head">ON THE BALLOT </span></strong><br /> Proposition A: Shall the County of Clay extend and impose a county-wide sales tax at the rate of one-eighth of one percent for a period of 12 years from the date on which such tax is extended for the purpose of providing law enforcement services for the County to include maintenance of current law enforcement facilities and all operational costs to provide for the incarceration of inmates, including additional law enforcement personnel? This sales tax is an extension of the County&rsquo;s current law enforcement sales tax and will not increase the County&rsquo;s current sales tax. The Clay County Commission shall annually appropriate said funds pursuant to law, with said funds to be audited annually. </p><p></div>