Hillsboro officials are asking voters on April 2 to allow the city to continue collecting a 1/2-cent sales tax that otherwise would end this summer.
If approved, revenue from the measure, called Proposition Police, will be used to help fund the city’s Police Department.
The proposition requires a simple majority vote for passage.
If the measure is passed, it would not require a tax increase, but the sales tax would become permanent. When voters originally approved the sales tax in 2018, it came with a sunset to end on June 30.
The total budget for the Police Department is $1,002,100, so the approximately $245,000 annual revenue from the sales tax covers 24.45 percent of the department’s overall budget, City Administrator Jesse Wallis reported.
Mayor Buddy Russell stressed the importance of keeping the sales tax in place.
“We can’t defund the Police Department,” Russell said. “A city can’t grow without a police department. You’re crazy if you don’t support your police department. It really is important.”
Police Chief Steve Meinberg said if the measure fails, the department will need to lay off three of the eight officers it has patrolling the city’s streets, crippling Hillsboro’s law enforcement.
The city’s current sales tax rate is 9.225 cents per $1. The city’s portion of that sales tax is 1.875 cents. The state gets 4.225 cents, the county gets 1.625 cents, and the Hillsboro Fire Protection District, Jefferson County 911 Dispatch and the Valle Ambulance District’s each gets 0.5 cents.
Russell said he and other municipal leaders are doing their best to educate the public about Proposition Police.
“It’s not a new tax,” he said. “It’s important for people to get out and vote.
“If you have a question about it, feel free to call me at City Hall (636-797-3334) or the police chief or the captain at the Police Department.”
