KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Independence voters signed off on a 1/4-cent sales tax to fund raises for city police officers on Tuesday night.
Proposition PD passed with 60.97% of the vote in unofficial results from the Jackson County Election Board.
KSHB 41’s Tod Palmer and Megan Abundis both spoke with Independence Police Chief Adam Dustman ahead of the vote.
"I am deeply grateful to the voters who supported Prop PD," Dustman said in a statement after Prop D passed. "We have seen the effect raising salaries has on our ability to hire new officers already. But it also improved our ability to retain our existing officers. Morale jumped when Prop PD was announced in May, and I can already feel it on our ranks again tonight."
The department said it had been struggling to recruit and retain officers since the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department raised starting salaries and adjusted how often officers receive raises in January.
The 1/4-cent sales tax, which will raise an estimated $5.5 million annually, will allow Independence to increase starting salaries from $43,000 to $62,000, which is more competitive with KCPD’s new $65,000 starting salary.
KCPD officers reach the top of the wage scale quicker, but Independence’s proposal allows officers to maintain health insurance after taking early retirement at age 55 until becoming Medicare eligible.
IPD, which has the second-largest police force in the Kansas City region at 230 officers, is currently short 34 officers.
City officials, including Dustman, hope the increase in salary helps fill those gaps.
"Our community has always supported the men and women of our Independence Police Department," Independence Mayor Rory Rowland said in a statement. "And I thank them for doing the same again today."
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