Sheriff urges voters to extend county public-safety sales tax to fund pay raises and three new positions

The Henry County sheriff’s office presented a draft ballot proposition on Feb. 24 asking the county to replace an expiring quarter-cent public-safety sales tax with a measure it says will preserve existing facility funding and redirect the bond payment to staff pay, training and limited staffing increases.

Sheriff’s office representatives told the county commission that the current quarter-cent tax—originally passed to pay the bond on the sheriff’s office building—will expire when the bond is paid off. The proposal would effectively replace that revenue stream and dedicate most new receipts to employee compensation, the presenters said. “We just want our staff to have a pay raise,” one presenter said. “It’s not a tax increase; it’s a replacement and an investment in our people.”

The presenters outlined the financial rationale: about $500,000 of the current levy covered the original bond payment and roughly $400,000 was used for facility upkeep and employee costs; the proposal would retain the $400,000 baseline while restoring the $500,000 flow for other public-safety needs. They estimated the package would allow modest pay raises to bring some entry-level positions toward local benchmarks and reduce overtime and turnover.

The sheriff’s office cited operational metrics to support the change. Presenters said January dispatch call volume was 1,337 calls and described staffing as “stretched” across divisions: 52 total employees, about 21 full-time and one part-time detention staff, 14 road deputies, two school-resource officers (SROs) and several reserve officers. The office proposed incremental additions over time—roughly two additional road deputies and one full-time maintenance position—to improve overlaps and response times across the county’s roughly 700 square miles.

Regarding SROs, presenters said Windsor and Davis pay part or all of their SRO costs under existing contracts and suggested a future county-funded roamer SRO for smaller schools that cannot afford a dedicated officer. On facility upkeep, the sheriff’s team argued a dedicated maintenance employee would reduce contractor calls, speed repairs (lighting, plumbing, wiring) and lower overtime burdens on existing staff.

Commissioners asked logistical and outreach questions about the ballot language and timeline; sheriff’s staff said they would refine the draft, present to city halls and follow up with scheduled public meetings before broader voter outreach. No formal vote on the measure was recorded at the meeting.

The commission also discussed related operational context (training hosted at the sheriff’s facility, regional partnerships and recruitment/retention trends) and asked staff to provide any needed clarifications before the county pursues the ballot placement process.