http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kcur/local-kcur-867481.mp3
Kansas City, MO – Clay County officials kicked off a drive for "Proposition A", which would renew a 1/8-cent sales tax that pays for much of its jail operations.
Council members from Northland Districts and Clay County Sheriff Bob Boydston told reporters that the 1998 sales tax pays for about a third of the cost of operating the county detention center, Sheriff Boydston says ending the tax won't save any money because by state law the prisoners would still have to be housed - for a fee - at some other jail.
Boydston: "Actually, the prices will increase overall, and we'll have these inmates passing through our communities here in Clay County for as long as there's crime being committed."
Boydston says extending the tax won't cost the taxpayers any more than they are paying now - about $2.35 a month for the average family. Clay County will vote on Proposition A in November - on the same day Jackson Countians vote on extending the COMBAT anti-drug tax.