Jackson sales tax may be on back burner

Asking voters to approve a fire safety sales tax in Jackson may be put on hold for a while after a countywide half-cent sales tax narrowly passed Tuesday.

Jackson officials have been working on a proposal to build another fire station in the city. They had been considering asking voters to approve a sales tax for the substation but were waiting for the results of the county proposal.

But with the passage of Proposition 1, city administrator Jim Roach believes Jackson voters may not be as likely to approve a tax increase. "On the heels of this tax passing, I just don't know if the odds are in our favor to pass another tax. That's just my gut feeling," he said.

It could be months to a year before the fire safety sales tax issue is revisited, Roach said.

Jackson fire chief Brad Golden has said for several years the city needs an additional fire station.

The city has one fire station at the intersection of East Jackson Boulevard and Hope Street. A majority of developing subdivisions in the north and northeast sections of Jackson are outside the fire department's five-minute benchmark response time.

"It's very much needed in Jackson," said Aldermen Kerry Hoffman. "It's a top project that can benefit everyone in Jackson and the county."

Aldermen Joe Bob Baker also stressed there's a need for another fire station, and knows the city will need to ask voters to support it. "I think since it's something we are in need of badly, the voters will realize that," he said.

Both men also say the city needs to give voters time before asking them to approve a fire safety sales tax.

"I do think it's too soon to ask. The voters did just get asked to pass a tax, and if you continually ask for tax after tax, it might not happen," Hoffman said.

Thirty percent of all votes in favor of Proposition 1 were from Jackson; while 28 percent of Jackson voters were against the sales tax.

Last November, results from a community survey revealed that more than half of Jackson residents support a sales tax to help fund a fire substation. The city's Community Outreach Board sent out 4,000 surveys to residents last year, and 745 were returned.

The response gives hope to Jackson officials that a fire safety sales tax might pass on a future ballot. "I think if voters are educated on what the need is, the benefits and the cost, they will support a tax," Hoffman said.

-- Jennifer Freeze