The Greenwood police chief has asked the city council not to add a half-cent tax to an upcoming special ballot. The tax would have funded a new police station.
Instead, Chief Will Dawson said he'll wait to see if residents vote to extend the county sales tax which expires in May. The money the police department receives from the county tax allows it to operate at its current level.
"Without that money, our budget's cut in half," said Chief Dawson. "So you're talking about half the police officers, and then our efficiency goes down."
For now, Dawson said ensuring the department receives the funds from the county tax to maintain its daily operations is more important than building new headquarters.
Ann Eglinsdoerfer, Director of Finance for the city of Greenwood, said losing the county tax funds would be "detrimental to the city." The city's 2013 budget accounts for the funds from the county tax.
The Greenwood Police Department can be found in a 1,000 square foot office within City Hall. The department relocated to the location as a "temporary fix" eight years ago.
Dawson said the department's needs study suggests a police department of Greenwood's size should be in a space ten times larger than it now occupies.
The chief said pulling the half-cent tax proposal off the table, doesn't mean they don't need a new station. "We will get by, but we can do a better job with a bigger department."
The city council will revisit the proposal after the county tax has been voted on in May.