Meridian council supports public hearings on proposed public‑safety levy to fund police, fire and local prosecution

Meridian City Council members said they want voters to decide whether to approve a local‑option public‑safety levy that staff presented as funding for police sworn‑pay increases, continued funding for firefighters acquired through a SAFER grant and a new in‑house prosecution unit.

Kurt Stein of the city attorney’s office explained the procedural path staff recommends: two public meetings to solicit public comment followed by council direction about whether to place a ballot question for voters to consider. Stein and other staff outlined that, if voters approve the levy, the new money would be included in the city’s future budgets for the stated purposes; council can later change budget allocations but the public vote determines whether the city can collect the additional revenue.

Council members pressed staff on how protected the funds would be from future budget changes. Stein replied that the council retains annual budget authority: "You have the authority to set the budget wherever you want... no council's beholden to make this stay forever as a budgetary number." He also said the city will present budgets showing the intended use of the revenues.

Council members and staff discussed the size and uses of the levy. The levy was described in the discussion as a roughly $5 million-per-year increase to the city’s revenues targeted to three areas: sworn police salary increases, sustaining 13 firefighters (initially added through a SAFER grant) and establishment of a prosecution team to handle Meridian cases in‑house rather than contract with another jurisdiction. Members asked for detail on prosecution staffing; city legal and police staff said building an in‑house prosecution unit would likely require multiple prosecutors and support staff to staff the courtrooms that operate daily in the judicial district, and that the city already added a police‑attorney position in the current fiscal year that would fold into that unit.

Council members expressed consistent support for bringing the question to voters and for holding robust public outreach. Several members asked staff to emphasize the forthcoming public meetings and to accept testimony via multiple channels. Council members also noted it is the voters, not the council, who will decide whether the levy is approved.

Next steps: staff will hold two public hearings (staff identified a meeting next Tuesday and a second meeting in early July) and return to council with public testimony before any decision about placing the measure on the ballot. Staff also committed to further detail for council and the public about the levy’s costs, timelines and staffing implications.

Why this matters: the levy would increase the city’s tax revenue capacity for ongoing public‑safety spending and allow the city to pursue local prosecution rather than continue a contract; the measure, if placed on the ballot, would be decided by Meridian voters.