KSHB 41 reporter Tod Palmer covers sports business and eastern Jackson County. Have a story idea to share with Tod? Send him an e-mail.
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Independence voters backed the blue in a big way Tuesday night, passing a 1/4-cent sales-tax increase that will fund raises for the police department’s rank and file.
“I’m super excited, first of all, because it just shows the trust that the community has in us,” Independence Police Officer Shawn Salazar said. “Obviously, they want to stand behind us and continue to allow us to do our jobs.”
The raise Salazar and other IPD officers received, which bumps starting salaries from $43,000 to $62,000 and adjusts the schedule for raises from there, will allow his wife to continue her studies.
“With this change coming for us, it’s given us the opportunity to let her go ahead and go back to school,” Salazar said. “My kids like to do extracurricular activities. That’s hard to do when you’re a one-income working family.”
But now he’s got one less worry.
“To hear that just makes me beam with pride,” Independence Police Chief Adam Dustman said. “I’m so thankful that he gets to go home and be a dad and a husband a little bit more because of this.”
Salazar was among Independence’s finest who couldn’t help but notice when the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department raised its starting salary to $65,000 in the spring.
“You’ve got a lot of diehard Independence folks here,” said Salazar, who is originally from Sacramento. “People who are here and live here and work here love it here. But that type of gap between what we were being offered and their city is something that would definitely entice anybody in today’s day and age, when it’s becoming harder and harder to live, to try and make a change like that.”
Independence police and the city council put the sales-tax measure on the ballot in response to the KCPD’s 30% pay raises, which were approved in April and bumped that department’s starting salaries to $65,000.
The renegotiated contract with the police union went into effect, but it was unfunded.
That’s no longer an issue after nearly 61% of Independence voters approved Prop PD on Tuesday, according to unofficial results from the Jackson County Election Board.
The tax is expected to generate $5.47 million in the first year, according to the city’s estimate.
Dustman isn’t prone to panic, but he was spooked by the number of Independence officers who went on ride-alongs with KCPD — a signal that they were considering changing departments.
“I wouldn’t have had any hard feelings toward people trying to better themselves and their family, but it definitely was something that kept me up at night,” Dustman said.
He said IPD already is short nearly three dozen officers, so losing more would put the department in a significant bind.
But Dustman said retention and recruitment of officers has improved since the pay raises were announced. Now that it’s fully funded after Tuesday’s election, he’s been sleeping easier.
He’s also thrilled for his rank and file, including officers like Salazar.
“I didn’t know that about Shawn and his wife. I think the world of Shawn — and for every Shawn, there’s 10 more that have the exact same story at this department,” Dustman said. “... I am just so grateful (to the citizens of Independence). I can’t say thank you enough.”
The citywide sales tax goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2025. It will now be 8.5%, but could be higher in special taxing districts.
Previously, Independence voters approved Prop P, which authorized a use tax in 2019 to provide money for more officers. The use tax also funds a municipal animal shelter.
Voters amended Prop P in 2021, allowing Independence police to use the money from the use tax for other departmental needs. Question 2 passed with 75% of the vote three years ago.
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