South Arkansas Town to Hold Tuesday Election to Help Police Department
By: Brea Douglas, Myarklamiss.com
Updated: June 21, 2012
Leaking ceiling tiles, stained carpets, and cramped halls is what
you'll find when you walk into the Magnolia Police Department in Columbia County. These are
just some of the reasons why police Chief Glenn Maxwell says he needs
city residents to pass the one fourth cent sales tax.
"The building that we work in, it leaks whenever it rains. We don't have the space to bring in all of our officers in to hold a departmental meeting," said Maxwell. "In addition we're required to maintain our evidence and we're just running out of space to maintain all of the evidence that we have here in the building."
And the problems continue with the police department. Patrol cars need to be replaced and more officers need to be hired. For that reason, Chief Maxwell is relying on the passage of the sales tax to help solve these problems.
"Normally on a shift we have anywhere between two and three officers working trying to cover the city and that's just not enough man power to do what we need to do in trying to serve and protect the citizens of Magnolia so the quarter of a cent sales tax will benefit us by giving us the revenue we need to hire more officers," added Maxwell.
Like Chief Maxwell, Tiffany Moore, a resident of Magnolia, is in favor of the sales tax passing.
"I agree with it," said Moore. "I don't mind it because I'm pretty sure if it's taking from me than it's going towards a good cause."
Funds from the sales tax will also go towards supporting city hall and the fire department. Early voting is going on from now until Monday. Election Day is Tuesday.
Magnolia residents can vote at the Columbia County Courthouse from 8a to 4:30p and on Election Day from 7:30a to 7:30p.
"The building that we work in, it leaks whenever it rains. We don't have the space to bring in all of our officers in to hold a departmental meeting," said Maxwell. "In addition we're required to maintain our evidence and we're just running out of space to maintain all of the evidence that we have here in the building."
And the problems continue with the police department. Patrol cars need to be replaced and more officers need to be hired. For that reason, Chief Maxwell is relying on the passage of the sales tax to help solve these problems.
"Normally on a shift we have anywhere between two and three officers working trying to cover the city and that's just not enough man power to do what we need to do in trying to serve and protect the citizens of Magnolia so the quarter of a cent sales tax will benefit us by giving us the revenue we need to hire more officers," added Maxwell.
Like Chief Maxwell, Tiffany Moore, a resident of Magnolia, is in favor of the sales tax passing.
"I agree with it," said Moore. "I don't mind it because I'm pretty sure if it's taking from me than it's going towards a good cause."
Funds from the sales tax will also go towards supporting city hall and the fire department. Early voting is going on from now until Monday. Election Day is Tuesday.
Magnolia residents can vote at the Columbia County Courthouse from 8a to 4:30p and on Election Day from 7:30a to 7:30p.
