The City of Airway Heights is asking its voters to provide additional money for the police department.
On the Aug. 6 ballot, Airway Heights voters will be asked to support a measure that would increase the city's regular property tax levy by $1 per $1,000 of assessed value. That equates to about $25 per month for the owner of the average home (about $300,000) in Airway Heights.
If passed, the public safety levy would enable the department to hire four additional patrol officers and buy more vehicles, Police Chief Brad Richmond says. Currently, the department has 14 patrol officers, who each respond to about 1,500 calls per year.
"Our calls are up 133% in the last five years. We have a need for more patrol officers, and our patrol cars are costing more to fix than they are worth," Richmond says. "We don't have a vehicle replacement program."
Richmond notes that police vehicles are offices on wheels for officers who respond to everything from theft and vandalism calls to overdoses and traffic safety issues.
The police department budget for 2024 is about $4.9 million, which includes various state and federal grants that may not be ongoing sources of funding, City Manager Albert Tripp says.
If passed, the levy would bring in an additional $1.2 million in 2025, which would increase over time to about $1.6 million in 2030.
The funding would ultimately become part of the city's permanent levy, Tripp says. That means eventually, as the city continues to grow and more properties are added to the tax rolls, the financial burden on individual homeowners should be reduced.
"We expect the dollar amount to go down," Tripp says. "As the city continues to grow, the amount will be less than $1 extra per $1,000 [assessed value] each year. The property tax will be spread out over more hands, making the load lighter for everyone."
A 2022 public safety needs assessment identified additional funding for law enforcement as a top priority. Part of what's driving that need is rapid growth. The city's population (approximately 12,070 people) increased by 7% in just the last year, Tripp says, and since 2020 it has grown by about 12%.
Voters can ask Richmond and Tripp more about the levy during a public meeting at 5 pm, Thursday, July 25, at The Hub, 12703 W. 14th Ave., Airway Heights.♦