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Franklin County Voters To Determine Future Of Law Enforcement With Prop P

It doesn’t take the public long to read the headlines on local newspapers, listen to them on local radio and television or read on social media to realize that crime is not only a problem nationwide but in small town America as well.

The current age of the Franklin County Adult Detention Center, constructed in 1986 along with nearby county wage increases, such as St. Louis County, have prompted Franklin County officials and municipalities to seek a solution to two major problems.

How to bring the county jail up to standards for increased population requirements and how to retain qualified officers and young recruits to choose Franklin County Sheriff’s Department or county municipalities as their career employment.

Several months ago a committee met for several meeting to discuss the needs of the law enforcement community both on the county and municipal level and thus Proposition P emerged as a solution to these ongoing problems and issues.

Proposition P, in Franklin County, is a proposed one-half percent sales tax that will help all law enforcement agencies in Franklin County with the manpower, resources and facilities needed to provide the residents of Franklin County a safer place to live and work, according to the Citizens For Proposition P, former Franklin County Sheriff Gary Toelke, Chairman.

Half of the funds collected from the proposed sales tax would be distributed between all law enforcement agencies in Franklin County based on the number of full time commissioned officers at each agency.

The funds will help these agencies provide recruitment, retention, and competitive wages for law enforcement personnel.

Many agencies, including Sullivan Police Department, have faced issues with hiring qualified applicants for their patrol openings, according to Police Chief George R. Counts. Applicants and new recruits are leaving the area for positions in St. Louis County where wages are 27 to 32 percent higher than with local municipalities and Franklin County Sheriff’s Department.

The other half of the sales tax would be used for the construction and expansion of the Franklin County Adult Detention Center and Emergency Operations Center (911 dispatch.)

The current county jail was contracted in 1986 for a 20-year lifespan along with housing up to 107 inmates,

In 2017 the county average population in the adult detention center was 149 and peaked at 184, causing safety issues and putting the county at risks of lawsuit by not meeting minimum standards through the American Correctional Association and the Prison Rape Elimination Act.

Franklin County Sheriff Steve Pelton recently spoke with the Sullivan Chamber of Commerce discussing the needs of Proposition P. Pelton discussed the problems with populations of prisoners at the jail along with deputies literally working out of closets to perform their jobs and paperwork.

Pelton discussed past lawsuits against the facility and stated that the new facility would be constructed in two phases with the first phase handling space for up to 250 prisoners and the second phase, to be constructed to allow for up to 30 years and 415 total inmates.

The revenue from the proposed Proposition P would generate some $6 million annually.

Former Sheriff and Committee Chairman Gary Toelke, currently has a video available for viewing on the Sullivan Independent News Facebook page.

Sullivan Independent News

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Sullivan, MO 63080

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