By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Buchanan County voters gave overwhelming approval to a quarter-cent law enforcement sales tax.
Now, the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department must deliver on promises made during the campaign.
Sheriff Bill Puett says the campaign to raise the sales tax had a simple goal.
“This was all about people,” Puett says during an appearance on the KFEQ Hotline. “When I say it’s about people, it’s two-sided. On one side, it was hiring new additional staff to address some of these concerns that we saw in the survey and some of the things we heard from our citizens.”
The second side was about salaries.
Puett calls the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department pay scale woefully low.
“Currently, a deputy makes $40,000 (a year) and a police officer here can top out at $65,000. So, you’re talking about a $25,000 swing,” Puett says. “Riverside, here just south of us, is going to top out at $75,000 a year.”
Salary step increases will be implemented as well as incentives to receive more education and training.
The quarter-cent increase in the county sales tax is projected to raise $3.6 million annually.
Puett says it will take time for the department to incorporate the additional money.
Two new units will be added to the sheriff’s department. One will be a career criminal-fugitive unit that can work closely with the Drug Strike Force. It will include six investigations and one sergeant. Another will be an additional patrol unit of eight patrol deputies and a supervisor. Puett also plans to hire a cyber-crime investigator who specializes in investigating child exploitation through the Internet.
Puett says the community survey taken by the Community Alliance indicated Buchanan County residents are concerned about the growing drug trafficking problem.
“One search warrant in the last month: five pounds of methamphetamine, six pounds of marijuana, cocaine, 222 fentanyl bars, eight fugitives in one location that they were able to take on one search warrant,” according to Puett.
The August 3rd quarter-cent sales tax ballot issued passed with more than 77% of the vote.