The first and most often asked question is how is the Sheriff’s Office funded? I am going to take you back a few years to 1988. Prior to 1988, the Sheriff’s Office was funded out of general revenue. In 1988, a tax initiative was placed on the ballot for a ½ cent sales tax for law enforcement. When that tax passed, it set up a Law Enforcement Fund to be utilized by county law enforcement. This allowed for the funds that originally came out of general revenue to be returned to general revenue for other purposes and give law enforcement an independent funding source. The Law Enforcement Fund doesn’t just fund the Sheriff’s Office it also funds the Prosecutor’s Office, the Juvenile Office and the Coroner’s Office. Many people don’t realized that four different county offices are funded from this ½ cent sales tax.
This answer is usually followed up with the question of how much money does this this local tax generate. I read an article, that in 1988, the tax was projected to generate approximately $250,000 to fund those four offices. In 2017 that tax generated approximately $700,000. Sometime over the years the need for law enforcement funding was greater than the sales tax alone could provide and the voters passed a ½ cent Use Tax with that tax being dedicated to the Law Enforcement Fund by the County Commissioners to help keep up with the growing needs of all four of those offices. In 2017 those two local taxes generate approximately $850,000 which still funds the four offices that I talked about earlier. On average, over the last 9 years the Sheriff’s Office only received 8% of its budget from these funds.
In the early 2000’s, it became very apparent that the jail needed replaced. The voters supported their Sheriff’s Office and passed a Jail tax that allowed the county to build a new jail. That Jail tax expired in 2017 and was approved by the voters to be continued as a Capitol Improvement Tax for the purpose of maintaining the courthouse and all county owned buildings. Since 2004, the Sheriff’s Office has held contractual agreements with outside agencies to house inmates for them in the new jail. These contracts have generated additional income for the Sheriff’s Office helping us to provide better services to our citizens without asking for any additional taxes for operational purposes since 1988.
Another question I am often asked is how the Sheriff’s Office affords the amount of Deputies and Detention Officers that we have and the equipment that they often use. My answer is simply we make it a priority. As your Sheriff, I cannot put a dollar amount on the price of the safety of our citizens, visitors to our community or Deputies. Ensuring that there are Deputies patrolling our community twenty four hours a day, seven days a week is a priority of mine. Ensuring that Deputies are trained and properly staffed to protect each other while they protect our citizens is a priority of mine. Ensuring that there are enough Detention Officers to keep and maintain the jail to secure violent offenders while they are here is a priority of mine. Staying within our budget is a priority of mine. Simply put it is my job to make sure that they have the tools, training and that there is enough staff to perform our jobs to meet the expectations of the Citizens of Bates County. Since I took office in 2009, I have watched the expectations, legal requirements and job responsibilities of law enforcement grow beyond what many agencies can handle.
Whether it is new standards imposed by outside entities that often have no understanding of law enforcement, court rulings affecting law enforcement., dealing with the opioid epidemic, mental health crisis, staff shortage crisis (because no one wants to be a police officer anymore) or financial constraints set by local governing bodies.
Here are some interesting facts that I think the Citizens have a right to know and are often mislead about our Sheriff’s Office. Since 2009, the Sheriff’s Office has ended every fiscal year under budget. From 2009 to 2017 we have saved approximately $2,549,000 from being under budget and we are looking at adding to that figure as we finish 2018. We are able to do this because I have challenged each employee to make it part of their responsibility to constantly evaluate the way we perform our jobs and find any areas that we can be more efficient and effective without sacrificing the safety of our citizens or failing to meet their expectations.
Since 2009, on average, only 8% of the Sheriff’s Office budget each year comes from our local sales tax. While many other counties have sought tax increases from their citizens solely for funding the Sheriff’s Office we have been fortunate enough not to have asked for any additional sales tax and to generate 92% of our yearly budget from contractual agreements outside of our community. The 92% of our budget that is generated by the Sheriff’s Office beyond the local sales tax is what pays for the salaries of the staff, police cars, safety equipment, training, technology and most of the other needs of the Sheriff’s Office.
As we add on to the jail, we look forward to 2019 with high expectations that we can continue to be successful and to utilize what we have financially to continue to offer the honorable service that we have to our citizens. As your Sheriff, I have taken an oath to uphold the laws of our land, fulfill the duty of my office and to support and defend the Constitution of Missouri and the United States. I look forward to giving the citizens a year-end report on calls for service with other statistics after we close out the year.
God Bless and I wish you a very Merry Christmas
Sheriff Chad Anderson
Here are some interesting facts that I think the Citizens have a right to know and are often mislead about our Sheriff’s Office. Since 2009, the Sheriff’s Office has ended every fiscal year under budget. From 2009 to 2017 we have saved approximately $2,549,000 from being under budget and we are looking at adding to that figure as we finish 2018. We are able to do this because I have challenged each employee to make it part of their responsibility to constantly evaluate the way we perform our jobs and find any areas that we can be more efficient and effective without sacrificing the safety of our citizens or failing to meet their expectations.
Since 2009, on average, only 8% of the Sheriff’s Office budget each year comes from our local sales tax. While many other counties have sought tax increases from their citizens solely for funding the Sheriff’s Office we have been fortunate enough not to have asked for any additional sales tax and to generate 92% of our yearly budget from contractual agreements outside of our community. The 92% of our budget that is generated by the Sheriff’s Office beyond the local sales tax is what pays for the salaries of the staff, police cars, safety equipment, training, technology and most of the other needs of the Sheriff’s Office.
As we add on to the jail, we look forward to 2019 with high expectations that we can continue to be successful and to utilize what we have financially to continue to offer the honorable service that we have to our citizens. As your Sheriff, I have taken an oath to uphold the laws of our land, fulfill the duty of my office and to support and defend the Constitution of Missouri and the United States. I look forward to giving the citizens a year-end report on calls for service with other statistics after we close out the year.
God Bless and I wish you a very Merry Christmas
Sheriff Chad Anderson
