The El Paso County commissioners is in the process of approving a ballot measure extension on a 0.23% sales tax to fund the Sheriff\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n
The fund has generated about $40 million annually.<\/p>\n
The sales tax is scheduled to sunset in 2029 but has already been extended by voters previously. The new ballot measure, which county voters would see this fall, seeks to extend the tax again to 2037. The tax was first approved in 2012.<\/p>\n
Current language gives the Sheriff\u2019s Office wide latitude for the funding\u2019s use, from hiring staff to buying new vehicles to operating the county jail.<\/p>\n
The newest version would make one change, omitting a special advisory group to track collection and the use of the tax money. Instead, the county commissioners would fill that role. The commissioners forwarded the ballot measure on first reading Monday. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not aware of any constraints that the past or current ballot language placed on the sheriff\u2019s office to fund critical public safety needs,\u201d said Ryan Parsell, the executive director of government affairs for El Paso County, during the meeting.<\/p>\n
The ballot measure was unanimously forwarded to a second reading on Aug. 4. Commission chair Carrie Geitner said that meeting would have more detail.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere will be more information to come,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
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