Nixa Police to Hire First 2 New Officers Thanks to Passage of Sales Tax Increase

June 14, 2023

The Nixa Police Department will soon be hiring the first 2 new police officers following voter approval of a tax increase which is dedicated to fund new police staff and construction of a new Police Headquarters.

The Nixa Police Department has been in need of additional police officers in order to meet demand for service from our growing community. Staffing shortages have negative impacts on existing staff and the department’s ability to provide services. Council wants to prioritize staffing relief for the department by beginning to create new officer positions as soon as possible.

Although voters approved the ¾ cent general sales tax increase on April 4^th this year, the City has not yet begun to receive that new revenue. Implementation of a tax increase is a process which takes several months, and the City now anticipates beginning to receive the new revenue near the end of 2023.

Mayor Giddens and the City Council therefore directed city staff to bring forward a council bill which amends the city’s 2023 budget to fund 2 additional police officer positions effective July 1^st, rather than waiting for the new revenues to begin to arrive. Since the positions will be added mid-year, the salary and benefits totals were calculated for 6 months of fiscal year 2023. Equipment costs are calculated based on the number of positions created. The Nixa Police Department does not believe it would be possible to acquire an additional patrol vehicle during this budget year despite the fact we typically need to acquire one patrol vehicle for every 2 officer positions. Addition of another Police vehicle will be addressed in a future annual budget. The total budgetary amendment is in the amount of $90,041.00. The funding for these 2 positions will be drawn from general fund reserves until the city begins to receive the new sales tax revenues which are earmarked for law enforcement purposes.

Nixa City Council voted to approve this budget amendment by ordinance at the council meeting on Monday June 12^th.

The addition of these 2 police officer positions brings the total number of sworn police officers in Nixa to 44. The city plans to budget for the addition of more police officer positions in the 2024 budget and beyond using the new revenues to cover those expenditures.