Local
Commissioners approve Sheriff's Office tax question
Posted: Sep 6, 2012 4:03 PM by Andy Koen
Updated: Sep 6, 2012 4:08 PM
Voters in El Paso County this November will decide whether approve a 0.0023% sales taxes to enable the Sheriff's Office to hire new deputies. At the Board of County Commissioners meeting Thursday, Sheriff Terry Maketa defended his request and addressed concerns raised by members of the public.
He told the commissioners there are currently seven patrol deputies on duty at any given time who are tasked with upholding the law in all of unincorporated El Paso County. Their average response time to calls for service is over 19 minutes.
The proposed sales tax would collect 23 cents on every 100 dollars spent in the county for the next 8 years. It's expected to raise approximately $17 million a year to enable the sheriff office double the number of uniformed deputies on patrol and better staff critical areas in the jail.
The commissioners voted 4-1 in favor of referring the measure to the November ballot. Commissioner Darryl Glenn was the lone "no" vote on the board.
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