Greene County Law Enforcement Sales Tax Addition (April 2012)

A Greene County Law Enforcement Sales Tax Addition measure was on the April 3, 2012 ballot in Greene County.

This measure was approved

• YES 14,086 (67.09%)a
• NO 6,909 (32.91%)

This measure sought to add to the county sales tax by a rate of 1/8th of a cent for an ongoing amount of time in order to further pay for law enforcement services in the county. County officials stated that overcrowding in the jail as well as slower emergency response times were the main issues that needed additional revenues.

Support

The City Manager and Police Chief had given their support and hoped residents would see that additional police personnel would be beneficial to the county to ensure safety.Officials also stated that crime had increased while the county budget had been continually decreased. They also stated that this additional money would not solve all of the crime problems in the county but would greatly help reduce those issues.

Opposition

A document mailed out by the county had some opponents to the tax calling foul. While opponents stated that the document advocated the tax, county officials said that the document's only purpose was to inform voters about the tax and it only gave general information. County officials stated that residents needed to be informed about the vote as it was important, but the document did not go so far as to suggest if residents should vote in favor or against. It is legal under state law for information to be sent out which gives facts and informs about an upcoming issue, but the document cannot advocate a side on the issue. County officials stated that they had the proposed document looked over by a lawyer to ensure that the information adhered to state laws.

Additional reading

• News-Leader, "Greene County officials promote passage of law enforcement sales tax," March 22, 2012
• News-Leader, "Tense meeting prior to law enforcement tax approval for April ballot," October 17, 2011