Tuesday's special election will determine if a one-quarter of a cent tax will be instated for the capital city.
The tax will be used to help provide more competitive salaries for police officers and firefighters, in an attempt to improve retention and recruitment. According to the 2020 Jefferson City Police Department Incident Data, the retention rate for officers and firefighters is 24%.
Jeremy Bowman belongs to the Jefferson City Police Officers Association. He worries the high turnover rate could lead to more crime in the community.
"The biggest problem with that turnover is that we're losing our contacts within the community," Bowman said. "I've always said that the police are only as strong as the community allows them to be. And we build that strength through our community relations. So, when we lose those officers, we lose those direct contacts in the community."
According to the JCPD incident data, since 2018, there has been a 47 percent increase in arrests for unlawful use of weapons, a 33 percent increase in arrests for assaulting an officer, and a 21 percent increase in weapons incidents.
The extra money will also be used to buy essential equipment for officers, such as body cams. Jefferson City is currently one of four communities in the state with a population ranging from 20,000 to 80,000 people without body camera equipment.
"So ultimately, it's not only purchasing the body cameras, it's the servers, the equipment for the servers, the storage, etc. And, of course, the staffing to help support all of that information," Bowman said.
While the police are hoping to pass this tax in order to purchase brand new equipment, James Noah, the president of Jefferson City firefighters local 671, hopes the money can help them replace some of their older equipment.
"The main focus is obviously the salary aspect of it, because without the employee there to fill the equipment, we have no employee there," Noah said. "But equipment needs throughout public safety as a whole is imperative to upkeep on, and we have a lot of equipment that outdates by national standard that requires that timeline of replacement."
The American Legion will hold a public forum on Thursday, Oct. 28, where Noah hopes concerned citizens bring an open mind.
"I urge anybody that has a question or concern to address it there and come out and listen to what we have to say and be able to make an educated vote," Noah said.
If passed, the tax will take effect in April 2022, at the same time that a Cole County one-eighth cent tax will end. The change of taxes will decrease the overall cost to taxpayers from .25 cents to .125 per $100.00 spent.
