Ozark County, MO. – With election day fast approaching, one major question those in Ozark County will have to face will be the choice to vote for or against a sales tax for funding the Ozark County Sheriff’s Office. This question comes about as officials in the county attempt to find ways to retain staff during difficult economic times.
We spoke to the Ozark County Sheriff Cass Martin and the Ozark County Prosecuting Attorney, Matt Weatherman, about the how’s and why’s of this question, and how this will improve the situation:
Weatherman states that this sales tax is expecting the increase to the budget to be roughly $400,000, allowing officials to not only hire and retain officers, but also to equip and train them to a higher level. Without the sales tax, it is expected that service will have to decrease across the county, possibly leading to only 1 Sheriff and 3-4 officers providing services to one of the biggest counties within the state.
