Brennan David, Columbia Daily Tribune (Missouri)

Columbia Police Chief Ken Burton would like officials who are considering asking voters to approve a 911 tax in November to discuss broadening the request to be a countywide public safety tax.

Ken Burton

Members of a committee of the Public Safety Joint Communications Board on Wednesday began discussing the possibility of asking voters to support a 911 tax on the November ballot. The recognition of a need for more funding and additional staff comes after a recent examination of Public Safety Joint Communications and the Office of Emergency Management.

Joe Piper, joint communications interim director, has told the seven-member committee that the two offices are just getting by with current staffing. That means special projects are nearly impossible to work toward because efforts are focused on answering emergency calls and dispatching services, and little funding makes matters worse.

No specific tax amount was discussed Wednesday, neither was the idea of a countywide public safety tax that would encompass new funding for joint communications as well as other law enforcement and emergency services within the county. Burton, whose department has a capital project in the planning stages, told the Tribune after the meeting that a countywide public safety tax should at least be discussed.

Enduring an economic recession since 2008, every county and city department has needs, Burton said.

“This is a unique animal in that there are so many stakeholders,” Burton said of the board. “It should at least be discussed. That way, if we choose to, we can go get something on the ballot that supports public safety and have 911 on that.”

A recent needs assessment of the downtown facility that houses the Columbia Police Department and joint communications shows that space and design are inadequate. Burton has initiated planning of a new police precinct but has no dedicated funding for such a facility.

Approximately $2.5 million could be appropriated from the Capital Improvement Sales Tax approved in 2005 to build a precinct, Burton has said previously.

The sales tax also has assisted the Columbia Fire Department with the purchase of new fire vehicles and two new fire stations, Battalion Chief Steve Sapp said.

A third new fire station is in planning, but tax revenue cannot fund the needed staffing, he said.

Fire Chief Charles Witt said he would entertain any proposal presented by the joint communications committee for a countywide public safety tax, but he has no inclination of whether he would support such an item until he sees what is put forth.

“We have to be sensitive. A lot of people will say, ‘Enough is enough,’ ” Burton said of overburdening the public after a recent Columbia Public Schools levy increase and bond issue were approved. “We’re not the only ones suffering in this economy. Citizens are, too.”

Boone County Sheriff Dwayne Carey heads the committee and wants its work to focus on 911 operations, not other agencies’ needs. His department benefits from a law enforcement tax approved in 2002. About 70 percent of Prop L revenue goes to the sheriff’s department, with the remainder going to the prosecuting attorney’s office, alternative sentencing programs, housing and judicial information systems.

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