El Paso County residents can officially expect to see a .0023 percent increase in sales tax starting Jan. 1, since voters approved ballot measure 1A on Election Day. The measure passed with 64.17 percent in favor.ìItís been a long process and weíre just thrilled,î said Terry Maketa, El Paso County sheriff. ìIt was actually very enjoyable to come to work and not struggle with how to find the funds for the basic necessities.îThe increase will bring in about $17 million annually and will allow the department to hire additional deputies and fix flawed equipment at the Criminal Justice Center, among other things, Maketa said. ìStaffing was the most pressing issue,î he said. ìWeíre working very diligently to hire civilian staff. We are in the process now of bringing on records techs and dispatchers. But we have to train them, and each area has a certain cap as to how many they can train at one time. As we get more people trained, weíll have a bigger cap to train. I want it (increased staffing) to be immediate.îThe department has also scheduled an academy starting Jan. 13 to train new deputies, Maketa said. ìWeíre hoping to have 40 people in it. My hope is to add 10 to 14 deputies as we approach April and May Ö within 18 months, we should be up to 100 percent of the staffing requirements.îIdeally, the department will be able to hold two additional training academies, which would allow a total of 120 new deputies to be sworn in, Maketa said. If that isnít possible because of training capacity issues, two academies will take place in 2013, he said.Maketa said critical items at CJC like the camera system and video visitation system need to be fixed. The dishwasher needs to be replaced so it meets health standards.El Paso County Commissioner Amy Lathen said, ìItís a great thing all around. Itís going to increase the number of patrol deputies in El Paso County and that is going to increase both their safety and the safety of the constituents.ìWe have to wait until we receive the revenue from the state, but weíre going to ramp it up just as quickly as we possibly can.îMaketa said the revenue from the increase wonít hit his department until March, but by summer residents in the unincorporated areas of the county should be seeing the benefits of the increase.ìI just want to express my level of appreciation and gratitude to the citizens for their generosity and support of my office,î Maketa said. ìI know the words ëthank youí donít represent how I feel and how the employees of the office feel. Weíre just very grateful.î
