Carter County to vote on tax for sheriff

VAN BUREN, Mo. -- Carter County voters will decide April 2 whether to increase the sales tax to fund law enforcement.

"The need for it is dramatic," said Presiding Commissioner Gene Oakley. "We have a pretty well staffed law enforcement department now."

While the county pays for the sheriff, two deputies and 24-hour, seven-day a week dispatch, Oakley said, the "additional personnel are all working because of grants we have applied for and received."

The department also "has more automobiles and other items they feel they need to do the job," Oakley said. "Much of that is from grants."

If the tax does not pass, then when the grants expire, "we would go back to having a sheriff and two deputies because that is what the county pays for," Oakley said.

Oakley said the population of the county has grown, but not dramatically; however, every year brings more tourists to the area.

The additional sales tax would cost a buyer an additional $400 on a $8,000 purchase.

Carter County's current sales tax rate is .05225. The increase would raise it tax to .06225.