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May 26 is deadline to place issue on August ballot

Clay County Sheriff Bob Boydston is stressing the need to extend the one-eighth cent law enforcement tax that expires in July 2008.

“By one estimate, close to 350 people who judges have decided should not live next to us, would be back out on the streets,” he said.

Boydston said Clay County municipalities would also need to find new locations for their prisoners.

In addition, he is concerned that waiting too long to ask voters to extend the current one

eighth-cent law enforcement sales tax could take detention center operations to the critical stage

even before the issue expires.

“It is clear that we must repeat the success of 1998 and get the funding in place,” he said. “If we wait until February (2010), the detention center could be on life support by that time.”

Eastern Commissioner Katie Porter said an issue to extend the tax would need to have a sunset clause, which allows voters to decide the future of the issue after a set period.

Boydston agreed with Porter.

“If we tried to go long term in this climate it would be self destructive,” he said.

Citing the Tuesday, May 26, deadline that’s drawing near to make a decision, Presiding Commissioner Ed Quick recently asked Boydston if there was time to prepare for an August election.

Boydston said there would be time, noting he had already given two speeches in favor of extending the tax and was prepared to give more.

“We’re ready to go,” he said. “It’s now just a matter of getting out to as many people as we can.”

A committee has already been selected and announced to promote the issue.

Boydston has said the committee will remain in place if the issue is approved and provide oversight to ensure revenue from the issue is spent as intended.

A majority of revenue would go toward detention center operations.

Security cameras in the James S. Rooney Justice Center have also been identified as a priority need.

In addition, Boydston has raised the possibility of using revenue to renovate a limited amount of space within the detention center for related programs.

Senior writer Mark Johnson can be reached at 781-4941 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Comments (1)

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written by G. Miller, June 30, 2009

Why ? Does'nt seem like with this grave yard incident , there is any security even for the dead .

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