PRAIRIE GROVE -- Registered voters in Prairie Grove will consider a local question on the Nov. 6 general election ballot on whether to approve a new half-cent sales tax to generate revenue to hire new police officers and new firefighters.
Early voting opens Monday, Oct. 22, and early voting centers include the Washington County Clerk's office and Quorum Courtroom in Fayetteville and Prairie Grove training room at 955 E. Douglas St., Suite 3.
Prairie Grove City Council voted in July to call a special election on Nov. 6 to seek the .50-percent local sales tax. The election ballot shows that net collections from the tax can only be used for police and fire personnel costs.
If approved, the city's local sales tax would increase from 2.25 percent to 2.75 percent.
City officials conservatively estimate a .50-percent sales tax would bring in about $273,000 in 2019, enough to hire five police officers and firefighters, including wages, benefits, overtime and payroll expenses.
A sales tax presentation prepared by Larry Oelrich, director of administrative services and public works, shows the city's population since 2010, has grown from 4,325 to 6,200 (about 43 percent). City officials expect the population to be around 6,850 by the 2020 census.
Since 2016, more than 530 new homes have been constructed in Prairie Grove with an estimated population increase of almost 1,300 in the past three years.
Police Department Needs
While the city's population has increased 43 percent since 2010, staffing for the police department has only increased 10 percent during the same time (excluding school resource officers), the presentation states.
Police Chief Chris Workman said the city would hire two new police officers if the tax is approved by voters. He said federal guidelines recommend cities have two officers per 1,000 people.
Prairie Grove has 12 officers and that includes the chief, captain and two school resource officers who are dedicated full-time to the school district. The department does not have a full-time administrative clerk and also is responsible for animal control.
"Unofficially we're at 6,000 people and we're short with our current population and current growth," Workman said.
Caseload and calls have increased over the years, Workman said.
According to the presentation, service calls for the police department increased from 4,670 total calls in 2015 to 5,639 in 2017. These are calls for service, offenses and animal complaints. Through the middle of 2018, police have received 3,187 calls and Workman anticipates the total for 2018 will be around 6,280.
Workman said police are not only dealing with an increased population in Prairie Grove but also with increased traffic that goes through the town.
With two more officers, Workman said he could have a full-time detective and have manpower to help fill in the gap when shortages occur.
Workman said two more officers would help the department keep up with growth in the community.
"We don't want to be the department that falls behind," Workman said. "We want to grow with the growth."
Fire Department Needs
Fire Chief J.C. Dobbs said the city would hire three full-time firefighters if the sales tax proposal passes and this would allow the fire department to have someone on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Currently, the city has three full-time positions but two of these are staffed by part-time employees. The department has firefighters at the station from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the weekends.
One reason for not having firefighters at the department 24 hours is that the volunteer base is not as large as it once was, Dobbs said.
"The volunteer pool is kinda dried up, well not completely, but it's not nearly the resource it once was," Dobbs said, noting more volunteers are working outside Prairie Grove during the day and it's hard for them to get back to town for calls.
Like the police department, calls for service have increased over the years.
"When I first started (in 1991), we were getting 200 calls a year," Dobbs said. "Now, it's 1,200 calls a year."
According to the city's presentation on the sales tax proposal, the fire department had 741 calls in 2010. This increased to 1,182 calls in 2017. By far, most of the calls to the fire department are medical situations.
Currently, Prairie Grove's 2.25-percent sales tax rate is dedicated for specific expenses. Of this, 1 percent is collected for the 2006 and 2009 sewer bonds; .75 percent is collected for capital improvements for street, drainage, water and sewer improvements; .25 percent is for parks and library; .25 percent is used for capital expenses for police cars, buildings, property and similar projects.
If voters approve the new tax, Prairie Grove's new rate of 2.75 percent would compare to 3 percent for Greenland and West Fork, 2.75 percent for Elkins and 2 percent for Farmington, Johnson and Lincoln. Lincoln also has a sales tax question on the ballot, asking voters to approve a .75-percent sales tax increase.
General News on 10/17/2018