Voters in El Paso County can expect to see a measure on the November ballot regarding a sales and usage tax increase. The measure proposes a .0023 percent increase in sales tax county-wide, which would amount to an increase of about $17 million annually.The purpose of the increase is to directly fund the El Paso County Sheriffís Office for needs the sheriff outlined at the EPC Board of County Commissioners and the Citizens Budget Oversight Committee this past summer.During his presentation Aug. 30, Sheriff Terry Maketa said there are three main areas of concern that the ballot measure addresses, including but not limited to the following: ìthe safety of the sheriffís deputies on patrol; maintaining a safe and secure facility; and addressing the countyís practice of taking advantage of those loyal deputies who are working hours and not reporting it because they donít want to leave their peers ñ their teammates ñ out on the streets, one man down.îMaketa said his main priority is law enforcement staffing. In his presentation to the CBOC and the BOCC, Maketa requested 40 full-time patrol deputies and 14 full-time citizen support staff. ìWe havenít seen an increase in patrol since 1990,î Maketa said. ìThe county population grew 50 percent from 1990 to 2006. In 2006, in the unincorporated areas the population was 140,000 and now itís 172,000.ìLaw enforcement tries to strive to have two officers per thousand people.îIn a recent interview, Maketa said, ìOur starting point isnít even one per thousand because that would put us at 172 on the road. We are asking from 60 to 100 on the road.îThe next priority is staffing at the criminal justice center, Maketa said. In his presentation to the county, he requested 42 full-time CJC floor security staff and 14 full-time civilian support staff. ìIn 2002, we had 26 positions cut from our office from the jail and the patrol,î he said. ìIn 2009 we lost another 29.ìAssaults on our staff in our jail are up 50 to 60 percent just in 2012.îThe infrastructure of the CJC itself is in need of repair because of age, Maketa said.He also requested overtime pay. In an interview with The New Falcon Herald, Maketa said, ìWe like to see 40 percent of an officerís time occupied with calls for service, 40 percent spent on administrative duties and 20 percent on other officer initiated activity. Right now, 60 to 70 percent of their time is occupied by calls or follow-ups, and they have told me that they have to do the administrative stuff at home because they donít have time to do them at work.ìMy only option is to continue to go to the BOCC and get the resources I need.îWith so few deputies on staff, Maketa said he canít allow them to take time off because there is no one to fill in the shifts.ìThe county has an obligation to provide reasonable funding, and reasonable minds can have different opinions about what that means,î said Amy Folsom, county attorney.Maketa said his main question is this: ìDoes the BOCC have the money to fund the sheriffís needs? Iíve heard them say they canít. If the answer is no, this needs to go to the ballot.îìThe sheriff does not have the legal authority to put a ballot measure on the ballot, and the only entity that can is the BOCC,î Folsom said. For that to happen, the measure needed to go through two separate readings by the BOCC before it could be referred to the ballot, she said.Upon hearing the first reading, Commissioner Sally Clark said, ìThe patrol piece is very important to the community. I believe youíve (Maketa) needed the money for a long time but at this time, I think youíve made a case for it.The first reading was passed in a 4-1 vote, with direction to Folsom to provide revised language for the second reading. Commissioner Darryl Glenn opposed the movement. Glenn said, ìIf I refer a measure to the ballot that means I support it. Iím not going to support this because I disagree with the approach.îOn Sept. 6, the BOCC heard the second reading of the measure with the appropriate revisions, and approved the measure for the November ballot in a 4-1 vote, with Glenn opposed.ìHe (Maketa) posed the question, ëDoes the board have the funds to be able to satisfy his statutory requirements,î Glenn told the NFH. ìIf you accept that premise, itís easy. But it really isnít. We do have a requirement, but we donít have all the funds.ìSales tax is based on whether or not you have discretionary income and most people do not. Tourism can help with that but weíre coming off one of the worst tourism hits weíve had in a while. Our tourism is way down. A lot of people feel that El Paso County and Colorado Springs burned to the ground. Weíre at a competitive disadvantage. I donít think we want to put a headline out there, ëcome to EPC, we just raised our sales tax.í I believe this is the absolute worst time to stimulate the economy by raising taxes.îCommissioner Amy Lathen, District 2 representative, approved the measure because she believes the people should decide.ìThe sheriff has been identifying these problems in his budget for several years and has always identified those groups of needs,î Lathen said. ìHeís been very consistent with the money he needed.ìI am more than willing, and have from the beginning, supported the question going to the ballot. That is his only access to the people. We have to refer it. We simply do not have the money to reallocate that amount of money.î
