Sparks to ask voters for tax hike for officers

SPARKS -- The Sparks City Council has agreed to ask voters whether they favor a sales tax increase to hire more police officers.

The council on Monday voted 3-1 to place the advisory question on the Nov. 2 ballot.

Officials say increasing the sales tax rate by a quarter percent would raise $3.6 million annually and allow the hiring of 25 new officers. Five nonofficer jobs lost to budget cuts would be reinstated.

The city has 109 sworn officers, about 66 officers short of national standards for a city its size.

If passed, the measure would still need approval from the 2011 Legislature. Final approval would raise the city's sales tax rate to just under 8 percent.