The Warren County government is asking voters April 3 to weigh in on a sales tax proposal that would benefit county law enforcement.Proposition P, a half-cent sales tax, will be on election ballots for every voter in Warren County.Below are common questions and answers related to Prop P.How will Prop P affect me?Prop P is a sales tax that would add an extra half-cent to every dollar spent shopping in Warren County. Travelers and nonresidents shopping or eating in the county would contribute along with residents. The opposite also is true — residents who shop across the border in other counties would not be contributing to this tax.What will the sales tax be used for?Sheriff Kevin Harrison has several goals for the funding from Prop P.The top priority is to raise wages for law enforcement and jail staff to reduce turnover related to low pay. Among just the deputies that patrol the roads of Warren County, almost half — seven out of 16 — left the department in 2017, Harrison said.That included veteran officers with decades of combined experience and thousands of dollars in training, he added.Another objective for Prop P is to significantly increase the number of department staff. Harrison said his goal is to add eight new patrol positions, two new investigators focused on drug crime, and eight new jail officers.Currently, a fully staffed shift has four deputies patrolling 438 square miles. With additional funding, that number would be increased to between five to seven deputies per shift, depending on the time of day.The population of Warren County has been increasing in recent years, and with it the demand for service has also gone up, Harrison said.The sheriff’s department wants to add jail staff for a similar reason, to meet the requirements of housing and controlling an increased number of inmates at the jail.One more issue county officials want to resolve is their dependence on federal prisoners to fund the county jail. The sheriff’s department brings in hundreds of thousands of dollars each year through contracts to house federal prisoners. Rather than being surplus income, the sheriff’s department relies on that money to avoid a large budget deficit.Harrison hopes Prop P will allow the department to gradually reduce its dependence on federal dollars, and to house federal prisoners only when bed space is available, not as a necessity.How many votes are needed for Prop P to pass?A simple majority of participating voters must vote yes on Prop P for it to be approved.How large of an area do sheriff’s deputies patrol?Deputies patrol and respond to calls across about 438 square miles, according to the sheriff’s department.When was the last tax increase?The last tax increase for county law enforcement was in 1993.How much money would Prop P raise?The Warren County Sheriff’s Department already has a dedicated half-cent sales tax that generates roughly $1.5 million each year. Officials estimate Prop P will add another $1.5 million to that amount.Is this money guaranteed for law enforcement?Yes, but it would pass through Warren County’s general revenue fund first.The general revenue fund is used to pay for most of the day-to-day operations of Warren County, but the sheriff’s department and jail have a separate, dedicated law enforcement fund.Officials explained that Missouri state statute only allows sheriffs in a county the size of Warren to collect a maximum of one-half cent as a dedicated sales tax, which is currently maxed out in Warren County. So any additional sales tax has to go to the county’s general budget first, then be transferred to law enforcement.County commissioners and Sheriff Harrison say they are confident the language of the ballot guarantees all the money will be used solely for law enforcement.The Prop P ballot question states the sales tax would be “for the purpose of providing funding to support current and future operations of the sheriff’s department and jail.”That language is enough for state-level oversight to prevent the money from being misused, officials said.What is the current sheriff’s department budget?In 2017, the sheriff’s department had about $3.4 million in expenses, split between the patrol division and the county jail.Department revenue was about $3.2 million in 2017. That includes sales and use taxes, state and federal reimbursements for housing prisoners, and $450,000 transferred from the county’s general fund.For 2018, the predicted law enforcement budget rose to $3.6 million. That was accompanied by a spike in the county’s general revenue transfer to more than $755,000, spurring the push for Prop P as a new revenue stream for the sheriff’s department.How much are deputies and jail staff paid now?Starting pay for patrol deputies is $16.65 per hour. Starting pay for detention officers at the jail is $13 per hour. Promotions in either position garner about a $1 per hour wage increase.Compare that to Warrenton police officers. A budget document for the city shows starting pay for Warrenton police is about $2,000 to $3,000 per year higher than for sheriff’s deputies, and there are some Warrenton patrol officers who make as much or more than promoted sheriff’s deputies might make. Promoted Warrenton officers have significantly higher pay than their sheriff’s deputy counterparts.Wright City police officer pay is mostly comparable to the sheriff’s department.When it comes to the jail officers, the sheriff’s department is also competing with local manufacturers, who pay a typical starting wage of $15 to work in an environment that doesn’t involve handling incarcerated inmates, Harrison said.The sheriff said he would like to raise starting pay to $18.50 for patrol deputies and $15 for jail officers.Will the county continue providing other funds?Although county commissioners have said the 2018 transfer amount of $755,000 is not sustainable, they would be comfortable continuing general revenue funding at a level similar to previous years. That would be around $450,000 to $500,000, but could be less if less is needed.“The sheriff will come in with his budget like he always does, and then general revenue will do what it needs to do to make the budget balance,” said Southern District Commissioner Hubie Kluesner.Is Prop P related to jail crowding?Last year county officials began developing a plan to remodel the Warren County Jail to accommodate a surge in the number of local prisoners. The remodel will convert office space at the sheriff’s department into additional jail housing.That plan will continue to go forward no matter how Prop P fares at the ballot, officials said. However, Prop P would make it easier to staff the expanded jail housing.The jail remodel would likely be financed partly by money the county has been saving and partly by a loan, commissioners said.Where can I learn more about Prop P?The sheriff’s department is hosting public meetings to answer questions Tuesday, March 27, 6:30 p.m. at the Gore Case Community Center and Thursday, March 29, 6 p.m. at St. Ignatius Community Center in Concord Hill.The Warren County Commission also regularly meets in open session on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon.Taxes