Byrnes Mill city officials plan on Wednesday, Dec. 4, to discuss the possibility of placing a tax issue on the April ballot.
The Board of Alderpersons will hold a workshop at 6 p.m. that day to talk about a possible tax measure designed to better fund the police department. The workshop will precede the regular board meeting at 7 p.m.
“Right now, we don’t know what kind of tax or what it will be called; we don’t know any details,” City Administrator Debbie LaVenture said. “We don’t even know if we are going to do it or not.”
She said city attorney Bob Sweeney is working on the details, and the information will be presented at the workshop. LaVenture said Ward 3 Alderperson Mary Scheble proposed the idea of exploring a tax measure.
If a tax issue were placed on the ballot and approved, it would help the police department, Chief Frank T. Selvaggio said.
He said his two main goals would be to keep the officers he has by increasing pay and attracting new officers by offering higher pay and more benefits.
Selvaggio said the tax increase would also help the department get better equipment.
“I need to improve the safety equipment for the officers,” he said. “I need a couple of vehicles. I need things like spike strips. I got a whole list of stuff.”
Selvaggio said the department has six full-time officers, three part-time officers and two unpaid reserve officers. He would like to hire at least four more full-time officers so two officers are on duty at all times.
In April 2017, the city asked voters to approve a 40-cent property tax levy increase for the police department, and the measure failed with 206 “yes” votes and 350 “no” votes. The measure needed a two-thirds majority to pass.