The breakdown
Montgomery City Council first began the process of creating the CCPD in May and voted to include it on the November ballot during an Aug. 13 meeting, according to prior reporting.
Police Chief Anthony Solomon said CCPDs are beneficial for smaller cities that face similar challenges as large metropolitan areas but lack resources or funding.
“When you've got a small city that's surrounded by a huge metropolitan area like Montgomery County, and when you're around that, you've got to equip a small police department like us to keep us equipped with ... all the things that we need,” Solomon said.
By 2026, Montgomery’s population is set to double and will continue to grow with the current development plans, Solomon said, and approving the CCPD will allow city officials to reallocate funds from the budget to better prepare for the population increase.
The CCPD will not result in a tax increase and will not change the overall sales tax rate, Montgomery Mayor Sara Countryman said.
Current situation
The CCPD would be funded through sales tax revenue and would reallocate half of the one-half portion of sales tax dedicated to economic development to the district, Countryman said.
If approved, the CCPD would operate for five years, after which citizens will vote again to decide its continuation.
Countryman said this is a “win-win situation” and would free up money that is set aside for the police department’s budget every fiscal year. Countryman said the CCPD would alleviate approximately $1 million from the general fund.
“We can reinvest in the community here through our general fund for the roads, for the water and infrastructure. ... It’s freeing up dollars so we can focus on that for the residents,” Countryman said.
- “They made it very clear that we're not going to have a tax increase, that we are going to have more funds available to make it possible for our town to be even safer," said Merriam Walker, a 25-year Montgomery resident.
- “If this district is going to create funds that the city can allocate back toward the city infrastructure, particularly, it's a no brainer. ... We don't mind giving this district its start,” said Arnette Easley, Montgomery Economic Development Corporation vice president.
Alongside considering the CCPD, November voters will also consider term extensions for City Council members. Council members and the mayor serve two-year terms; however, if approved by voters, those terms would become four years long with a three-year term transition period beginning with the May 2025 election and four-year terms for each subsequent election, according to the ballot language.
