GIRARD, Kan. — First responders in Girard are celebrating last night’s election results — as voters passed the half-cent public safety sales tax increase.
This will raise the sales tax in Girard by one-half of one percent, with the money going directly to the Girard Fire and Police Departments.
City officials say, up to $400,000 of additional revenue could come from this every year.
Girard Police and Fire will use these additional funds to purchase new equipment, add staff members, and hopefully fund the Police Department’s move to a new building.
“I’d like to start with thanking the citizens of Girard, these are the people that voted on this, we appreciate their support,” said Jeff Turner, Girard Fire Chief.
“And this is just another example of how they support us, and in them supporting us, we are going to better be able to support them, which is our goal, we want to serve the public, we want to make sure we offer the best services and provide the best service to the citizens of Girard,” said Chris Wilson, Girard Police Chief.
“These are the types of elections you should be showing up for, so hopefully those turnout numbers will go up for us and we can get a more involved electorate,” said Gene Rountree-Garcia, Crawford County Director of Elections.
Crawford County officials say voter turnout was about average on Tuesday night, but official numbers are not yet available.
The Girard Police and Fire Departments will start to receive the additional funds, as soon as April.
