Jefferson City voters value "safety first" and that was evident by the convincing victory of a public-safety sales tax proposal, proponents of the quarter-cent sales tax said Tuesday night.
Carlos Graham, co-chairman of JC Citizens for Public Safety committee, said he was pleased by the outcome of the election; nearly 70 percent voted for it.
"I think it went well; it went great," he said. "I really want to thank the citizens of Jefferson City. This is certainly a win-win for all of us. It shows that we do put our safety first."
The quarter-cent public safety sales tax, which will help fund salaries and equipment for the Jefferson City police and fire departments, passed easily by a vote of 2,719 to 1,174.
Collection of the tax starts April 1. It's estimated to bring in $2.8 million annually.
Prior to the election, police and fire union leaders said their main focus was on using the funds to increase salaries in both departments and set up a police body camera system.
James Noah, president of Firefighters Union Local 671, on Tuesday night said he was happy overall with the turnout since it was higher than expected.
"I'm pretty excited about the future endeavors and the capabilities that we're able to utilize with the funding as far as developing a pay plan and so forth to maintaining salaries, comparative and competitive with other departments and municipalities, and the abilities to recruit and retain the members that we do have," Noah said.
Graham pointed to the same potential to better recruit and retain staff.
As communities around the country discuss defunding police, Graham said, the vote is a way to show Jefferson City is about funding public safety. That will benefit the community by improving recruitment and retention, he said.
The Jefferson City Police Department has seen a sharp decrease in applicants over recent years with some positions remaining open for extended periods of time. To address those vacancies, officers from other teams have needed to fill in on regular patrol.
"We're not going to have an open door, a revolving door, where we just train (officers) and they leave," he said. "They're coming here, and they're staying. I'm just hopeful that this allows us to be able to put the number of officers back on the street because I miss the Community Action Team. I miss the traffic unit. I want to see a full detective unit."
Jeremy Bowman, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, said he isn't surprised by the results.
"I'm excited and humbled and blessed that the community saw this opportunity as a need and not as a want," Bowman said. "It's directly going to have a positive impact in the community. Every cent out of their pocket is going to make an impact in one way, shape or form."
Next step, he said, is for union leadership to continue working with the city on what pay raises will look like and see the funds go where they're supposed to.
"The FOP wants to make sure that this tax money is held accountable through the entire city government," he said. "We want to make sure that every penny is being spent on salaries to help with retention and recruitment, and equipment like body cameras."