Proposition P, a half-cent sales tax for county law enforcement, has passed with almost 70 percent of Warren County voters saying yes at the ballot box April 3.“On behalf of the men and women of the Warren County Sheriff’s Department, I want to offer my thanks to the members of this community for their confidence and support in passing our Proposition P,” said Sheriff Kevin Harrison. “My deputies, jailers and support staff often perform very challenging jobs. But one of the greatest rewards is that we do it for a community that acknowledges and appreciates our efforts. We will never take your trust and support for granted.”The sales tax will generate an estimated $1.5 million for the sheriff’s department and jail.The top priority for the funds is to raise wages for law enforcement and jail staff to reduce turnover related to low pay.Harrison said he also intends to hire eight additional patrol deputies, two new investigators focused on drug crimes, and eight new jail officers.Patrol deputies currently earn a starting pay of $16.65 per hour. Starting pay for detention officers at the jail is $13 per hour.Harrison said he would like to raise starting pay to $18.50 for patrol deputies and $15 for jail officers, in order to compete with other local law enforcement departments and area employers.Prior to Prop P, the budget to run both the patrol division and jail was about $3.4 million in 2017.Large majority voteAlthough vote totals will remain unofficial until ballots are reviewed by the Warren County Clerk’s Office (which should be done by Friday), supporters came in with a 2-to-1 lead in favor of Prop P.Out of 4,515 votes cast throughout Warren County, 3,099 voted yes, compared to 1,416 no votes. The proposition only needed a simple majority vote to pass.Not only did Prop P secure that overall majority, it had the majority vote in every single voting precinct in Warren County, often with at least double the number of yes votes to no.Warren County Sheriff's Department