Arnold voters showed strong support for the 1-cent sales tax increase the city asked for to fund its Police Department.
The tax increase, called Proposition Public Safety, needed a simple majority for approval and passed April 4, with 1,718 yes votes (66.33 percent) to 872 no votes (33.67 percent).
Along with that additional sales tax to cover Arnold Police expenses, the proposition will reduce city residents’ property tax by 50 percent.
“In my opinion this is the biggest decision made by our residents since our city was incorporated more than 50 years ago,” Chief Brian Carroll said. “This tax measure will allow us to continue to provide the best possible police services to our community.
“I have worked in this community for a long time, and our citizens realize the importance of public safety.”
On Oct. 1, the city’s sales tax will increase from 1.25 cents per $1 to 2.25 cents per dollar, and its property tax will be reduced from 0.363 cents per $100 assessed valuation to 0.1815 cents per $100 assessed valuation, city officials said.
The total sales tax people pay in the city currently ranges from 8.35 cents per $1 to 10.35 cents per $1 depending on where they shop because some stores are in special taxing districts.
In addition to the current 1.25-cent sales tax that goes to the city, the overall sales tax charged in the city includes 4.225 cents for the state, 1.625 cents for the county, 1/2 cent for the Rock Community Fire Protection District, 1/2 cent for Jefferson County 911 Dispatch and 1/4 cent for the Rock Township Ambulance District.
“I want to thank everyone who voted to support our Police Department,” Mayor Ron Counts said. “Passing this proposition will make our city a safer place to live and make our schools a safer place for our children. I want to thank our Police Chief Brian Carroll and all of our Police Department for their outstanding job reaching out to our community to pass this public safety bill. Passing the public safety referendum will keep our city moving in the right direction for many years to come.”
City Council members agreed in January that if the sales tax were approved, the city would add up to two school resource officers (SRO) to work at the five Fox C-6 School District schools inside of city limits.
The Arnold Police Department currently provides one SRO officer for the five schools – the Fox Elementary, Middle and High schools, as well as the Rockport Heights and Sherwood elementary schools.
City Administrator Bryan Richison said the additional SROs may be in place when the 2023-2024 school year begins on Aug. 23, even though Arnold will not start receiving revenue from the public safety sales tax until December.
Richison said he doesn’t know if the school district, which has been struggling with declining fund balances, will help pay for the additional SROs.
“I don’t know how the details are going to work out,” Richison said. “The mayor, council, Chief Carroll and everyone here wants to add two. We will have discussions with the school district about that. I know that they have their own issues there. My feeling is short term, we are willing to do a lot to make it happen.
“In the long term, we would want them to have some commitment to help, but we understand their (financial) situation. This is something we really want and promised the community. We are very motivated to make it happen.”
According to City Council documents, the tax will generate an estimated $7.2 million, and Arnold Police expenses are projected at $7,198,016 for this fiscal year, which runs from Sept. 1, 2022, through Aug. 31.
Revenue from the 1-cent sales tax increase will free up more of the city’s operating funds to be used for road and street repairs and improvements, as well as other projects, Richison said.
“It changes our financial situation,” he said. “Since I have been here, we have always been struggling to balance the budget. It has always felt like we have been short of resources. Now, we will be in a much more stable situation. We won’t have huge surpluses, but it will be much easier to have a balanced budget. We will avoid having to make cuts, which is something I thought we would have to do this summer when we worked on the next budget.”