New Pueblo Police Academy graduates stem from tax increase
Voters in Pueblo are beginning to see previously made efforts starting to pay off. Last November voters called for higher public safety standards in “The Steel City” through a sales tax increase, now those increases are helping new Pueblo Police Academy graduates.
The passage of Ballot issue 2B, increased the local sales tax and use tax rate by one-fifth of one cent for five years. The money generated would hire twenty-four new officers to the force.
Monday, the Pueblo Police Academy saw their first eighteen graduates pass, with salaries from sixteen of them directly stemming from election ballot measure 2B.
The goal is to beef up the department’s traffic unit, response times to calls, and allow the department to move more experienced officers to new positions in different units.
“We’ll be able to add officers to the person’s crimes unit, the property crimes unit, narcotics, gangs, and some other specialized units that have been lacking manpower over the last few years,” said Deputy Chief Chris Noeller of the Pueblo Police Department.
For the 2B officers that graduated thanks to last November’s vote, they take a certain sense of pride being called a 2B officer.
“The Pueblo people wanted us out there,” said B2 officer Julee Burns, who is prepping to hit the streets Tuesday night. “They were showing the support for us. So we take a lot of pride in knowing the community is backing us.”
All sixteen officers will begin the next part of their training Tuesday night as a Police Training Officer or PTO.
“It’s a sixteen-week program where they are working side by side with an experienced officer in the car,” said Deputy Chief Noeller.
Burns says she can’t wait to hit the streets and continue her education.
“The academy was easy, and now we are going to get onto the street,” said Burns. “We are going to make some mistakes and fix them. Just be the absolute best we can be for the community and department.”
The 2B sales tax increases after five years. When asked how they plan to pay for 24 new salaries after it expires, police officials said they are working on a plan.
That plan could include asking the public taxpayers for more help in the future.
