MORLEY RESIDENTS TO DECIDE ON HALF-CENT SALES TAX

MORLEY -- Approximately 683 people call Morley home. There is one full-time, one part-time and one reserve police officer who share one patrol car. The newest fire truck in the Morley Volunteer Fire Department is a vintage 1966 model.

Morley is not a big place. So when Morley aldermen decided to ask for some extra money to help maintain the city's fire and police equipment, they didn't ask for a big tax increase.

On Tuesday's general election ballot in Scott County is a half-cent city sales tax proposal. Aldermen and Police Commissioner Ed Ulmer estimates that 70 to 80 percent of the tax would be paid by people outside of Morley.

"Our biggest contributor would be Wheeler Truck Trailer Equipment, which sells primarily to people outside the community," Ulmer said. "Then there's R&R quick stop that gets a lot of outside traffic."

Morley City Clerk Carolyn Frey said no immediate purchases must be made. Even though the city's fire truck is 30 years old, it still runs well enough that the city has no pressing need to retire it. What they do need is another patrol car and enough money to repair the equipment they have.

"We have good fire protection out here," Frey said. "But we need to try to maintain that level of protection. We also have a reliable police department, but we have to try to prepare for expanded coverage in the future."

Ulmer, who hopes the tax could bring in at least $30,000 a year, said the three city fire trucks don't have optimum water capacity or the pump pressure.

"Eventually we will have to replace a truck," he said. The fire department has a greater need for portable breathing apparatus that firefighters use when entering burning buildings.

The other concern is to keep Morley's lone full-time police officer on the force. The officer's salary has been funded through a federal grant that remains active until 1999.

"We'd like to keep that officer on after the grant has expired," Ulmer said.

Frey said her office has received no direct opposition to the tax proposal, only questions about where the money would go. She said most of the local businesses are in support of the tax.