Mesa County eyes tax for DA, sheriff

Revenues from a public-safety sales tax in Mesa County would go to the Sheriff’s Office and the district attorney, but those agencies still would have to compete for general-fund money, Mesa County Commissioner Scott McInnis said.

He is working with others to draw up a proposal the commission will consider for the November ballot, McInnis said.

Many details remain to be worked out, but McInnis has made it clear that the measure will seek a sales tax increase that can be used only for the Sheriff’s Office and for prosecutors.

The 2017 county budget includes provisions to increase spending by $1.4 million for the sheriff and $400,000 by the district attorney’s office. Those amounts, though, are well short of the amounts sought by the agencies, and county commissioners said they would consider ways of restoring cuts to both agencies made in 2010.

Read more: http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/articles/county-eyes-tax-for-da-sheriff