Manteca’s public safety leaders anticipate the need to hire 24 more frontline personnel over the next seven years — 15 police officers and nine freighters.

The nine firefighters will allow the city to station a second engine company at the Union Road station that was constructed back in 2002 for such an eventuality. The station’s location midway along the 120 Bypass places it in a central location to serve growth from Main Street to west of Airport Way south of the 120 Bypass.

Such a move would allow the city to delay the need for a sixth fire station that would cost in excess of $5 million to build until such time growth, most likely in southwest Manteca, will fund the station.

In addition 14 additional non-sworn personnel  — five community service officers, four dispatchers, an administrative assistant, crime analyst, code enforcement officer, animal services officer and records clerk — would also be needed to help the Manteca Police Department maintain service levels and keep up with growth.

Of those positions, the seven-year public safety staffing plan as of June was to have six police officers and nine firefighters paid for with funds from Measure M half cent sales tax receipts as retail grows.

The Measure M Tax Oversight Committee meets Tuesday, Dec. 15, at 3 p.m. for a review of the public safety sales tax funds and to see how COVID-19 economic fallout may impact efforts to underwrite the seven year outback safety strafing plan. The meeting is being conducted by Zoom due to the pandemic. It is being livestreamed over the city’s website.

The public safety tax currently funds 15 firefighters and 20 police officers.

To underscore how critical the half cent safety tax passed by voters in 2006 has been, 20 of the police department’s 75 sworn positons are paid out of the half cent sales tax receipts.

While the 75 positons exceeds the actual staffing that was in place before the Great Recession when 12 officer positions were eliminated due to budget cuts, it is below the budgeted position of 85 that was on the books in 2008.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com