The proposed half-cent sales tax would help make a first-class sheriff's department

By John Jordan

On Aug. 8, the citizens of Cape Girardeau County will have an opportunity to help make roads and law enforcement in the county better through a property-tax rollback initiative referred to as Proposition 1.

This is the first time in almost a quarter of a century that county government has asked its citizens for any type of tax increase. Think about it for a moment. This is almost unprecedented in the world of government.

I have listened to comments regarding Proposition 1 that are negative simply because the person making them obviously didn't understand what the county is trying to do. Here is as basic as I know how to put it.

Property-tax rollback

Right now, if you own real property or personal property in Cape Girardeau County, you pay either a county road and bridge tax or Cape Girardeau Special Road District taxes. Get your tax statement from the county and look at it. You will see that you pay it. Proposition 1 would eliminate this tax from both your real and personal property if it passes.

Proposition 1 asks the voters to approve a half-cent sales tax in exchange for eliminating the road taxes off their tax bills. One might ask: Since Proposition 1 would create more revenue for the county, am I going to be paying more if Proposition 1 passes? Not in most cases. Right now the property-owning taxpayers of the county pay 100 percent of the road taxes. If Proposition 1 passes, however, much of this burden would be shared by non-property-owning citizens and people surrounding Cape Girardeau County who daily come here to visit and shop. The vast majority of extra revenue created by Proposition 1 would be made up by non-property-owning residents and visitors coming here to shop.

If Proposition 1 passes, would everyone pay less in taxes overall? The truthful answer is no. Some will pay less. Some will pay more. But for most it will be a wash. Here is one quick example. If you pay $50 in road taxes from your combined real estate and personal property taxes, you would have to spend $10,000 on taxable items before the half-cent sales tax imposed by Proposition 1 would equal the $50 in property taxes that will be wiped off of your tax bill by Proposition 1.

If you do not own a home or a vehicle, Proposition 1 would cost you more than it does a property-owning taxpayer, because you will not receive the benefit of having your property tax rolled back.

High turnover rate

For years the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department has had the reputation of being a training ground for other law enforcement agencies. Since I took office in 1994, the annual turnover rate has been as high as 29 percent. Since 1994 I have witnessed 173 personnel changes. Why so much turnover? The answer is easy. Pay and scheduling conditions are the problem. Over the past 11 years I have been able to get the starting pay for a patrolman up to $23,747, which is still $6,392 less than the starting pay for a patrolman in Cape Girardeau. To summarize how I know the deputies are underpaid is simple. If I open the drawer today to see how many applicants for patrolmen I have, there are less than six.

Deputies frequently work alone after midnight in a large county with their only backup being a highway patrolman or an officer from the Cape Girardeau or Jackson police departments. Including supervisors, we have 13 patrol deputies. Any time someone calls in sick or has an emergency or a vacation day, the shifts are left short. Inadequate pay and a shortage of manpower equal trouble. With vacation days, sick days and comp time days included, more than half of the patrol shifts in 2005 were staffed with only one patrolman on duty.

I have watched numerous excellent officers leave to go to Jackson, Cape Girardeau, the Southeast Missouri State University Department of Public Safety and other state agencies all for one reason: better pay.

Staffing ratios

Staffing ratios nationwide will differ from place to place. In Cape Girardeau the population is 35,993. There are 48 patrolmen, so the ratio is one patrolman per 749 citizens. In Jackson the population is 12,751. There are 13 patrolmen, so the ratio is one patrolman per 980 citizens. There are 13 patrol deputies to take care of the 22,417 residents in the out-county area. This is a ratio is a whopping one deputy per 1,724 residents.

Daily, your patrol deputies have to triage who will get services first and who will have to wait based on the severity of the call. This is not acceptable. Cape Girardeau County is classified as a first-class county, yet we are not delivering first-class county services to the citizens we serve.

I believe most citizens in the out-county will support Proposition 1. Now we must ask: "Why on earth would someone in Cape Girardeau or Jackson vote for a tax increase to help the sheriff's office when they already have a police department that takes care of them?"

The answer is simple. These are your deputy sheriffs. I fear most citizens do not realize the integrated role the sheriff's office plays within the justice system. The sheriff and his deputies are constitutional officers who guarantee the wheels of justice do not stop.

I wonder how many citizens in Jackson and Cape Girardeau know or understand what happens to a person arrested by their local police department.

I wonder if they know 73 percent of the local prisoners housed at the county jail are residents of Cape Girardeau and Jackson.

I wonder if they know after the initial arrest by their local police department that the person is booked into the Cape Girardeau County Jail by a deputy sheriff. During the time these prisoners are at the county jail, it will be a deputy sheriff who will house, clothe, guard, feed and medicate them.

I wonder if they know that before the prisoner has his day in court, it will be a deputy sheriff who will serve subpoenas to the police officers who made the initial arrest of that prisoner and any other witnesses ordered to appear by the court.

I wonder if they know when the day arrives for the prisoner to have a hearing in court, it will be a deputy sheriff who transports him to and from the courthouse.

I wonder if they know while the prisoner makes a court appearance a deputy sheriff will be presiding over the security of the courtroom to ensure the safety of the judge, the court clerks, the attorneys, the prisoner and all citizens in attendance during the hearing.

I wonder if they know the jury summoned to hear the case is summoned to court by a deputy sheriff.

I wonder if they know that before a jury begins its deliberation it will be a deputy sheriff who takes an oath from the court to preserve the jury's integrity before, during and after its deliberation.

I wonder.

I dare say the majority of the citizens of the Cape Girardeau and Jackson do not know all of these things, but once they do they will stand up to support the deputies in the same manner they support their local police officers.

Plans for revenue

I have been asked how I will spend $1.5 million in extra revenue. No. 1, I will go right to the heart of the problem. I will fix the pay schedule and bring it up to levels of Cape Girardeau Police Department so we bring the turnover rate down to one that is acceptable.

I will add five patrolmen, two communications officers, two court security officers and one full-time abatement officer. Including the benefits package, this will cost an estimated $760,000.

The remaining revenue will be used to keep the salary schedule offered by the county competitive for years to come along with purchasing and maintaining equipment needed by the sheriff's office. The new personnel will allow us to maintain better out-county patrols, communications, court security, civil and criminal process serving and will also allow us to have a full time animal control/abatement officer to work on animal and litter issues. These are only but a few things this tax will immediately do to impact the entire county.

In essence, Proposition 1 will allow the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department to become the first-class county sheriff's office its citizens deserve. If you are a citizen and will have to pay a small amount more in tax, I understand why you might not want to support Proposition 1. However, if you are one of the vast majority who will be paying the same amount or less in taxes, why on Earth would you not support better law enforcement and roads within the county you live?

Please join me in supporting lower property taxes, better law enforcement and better roads for Cape Girardeau County and vote yes on Proposition 1.

John Jordan is the Cape Girardeau County sheriff.