Elective tax goes to JPS

The Saline County Quorum Court will vote Tuesday on a voluntary tax that is meant to help equip sheriff’s deputies to better respond to reports of vicious animals.

The ordinance, approved Monday by the court’s Public Works and Safety Committee, is expected to pass at Tuesday’s 6:30 p.m. meeting at the Saline County Courthouse, 200 N. Main St. in Benton.

Justice of the Peace Josh Curtis, the ordinance’s primary sponsor, hopes the annual $5 tax that county residents can choose to pay will minimize the number of stray dogs roaming the county.

Eight of the 12 other justices of the peace co-sponsored the ordinance, but some aren’t sure it will achieve its intended goal.

“They are skeptical about how much money it will bring in, and they are skeptical we can’t provide the immediate services when people pay their voluntary money,” Curtis said Tuesday.

The ordinance would allow the Saline County sheriff’s office to use the funds for construction, maintenance, operation and personnel training and salaries.

Sheriff Bruce Pennington favors the voluntary tax. It will allow him to have his environmental officer trained in handling dangerous animals, he said.

The sheriff’s office received 65 reports of vicious dogs last year, and officers weren’t always equipped to respond, he said.

The tax won’t need a vote by county residents, but it does have community support, Saline County Judge Lanny Fite said.

Justice of the Peace Mark Kizer, one of the four who isn’t co-sponsoring the proposal, isn’t sure whether the tax will solve the county’s stray-dog problem.

“What if I give $50 as a donation and I have a problem with a dog and there is not enough money to pick it up? I’m going to expect something to be done,” Kizer said.