A half a cent is making it possible for Manteca to hire 15 police officers and 15 firefighters when the next fiscal year starts in 25 days.

That was the promise of the Public Safety Sales Tax voters approved in 2006. It was implemented with the current fiscal year when the 14th and 15th firefighter positions were hired with the half cent sales tax. Currently 13 police officers and 13 firefighters have their salary and benefits covered by the tax due to retirements. The city is in the process of recruiting and hiring replacements for the two police officer positons.

The two firefighter jobs will be filled by two of the six firefighters hired by a federal grant that expires Dec. 31, 2017.  The other four firefighter positions will be covered by the public safety endowment fund. That fund no longer has money flowing into it from developers. The endowment balance is expected to dwindle to $2.1 million by July 1. That’s when three police positions that ae now being covered by the fund will be transitioned into the general fund budget. The net result overall from all funding sources will be no change in the number of police officer positions and two less firefighter positions. No current firefighter will lose their job.

Tax oversight committee chair Randy May is scheduled to present the annual report on the sales tax when the council meets Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Civic Center, 1001 W. Center St.

Originally the plan was to have 15 police officers and 15 firefighters funded using the half cent sales tax as of June 30, 2010. Financial challenges posed by the recession postponed 100 percent fulfillment of the promised staffing goal until this year.

 As of July 1, more than a third of the fire department’s front-line firefighters and command staff will be covered by the half cent sales tax. Without the tax the department would probably have to close one of its four existing stations and operate a rescue squad only out of another.

The tax pays for 23 percent of the 65 sworn officers assigned to patrol and detective duties. That 65 number does not include two booking officers and two community resource officers.

Altogether 30 of the city’s 108 public safety positions are funded by the half cent sales tax.

The last fiscal year ending on June 30, 2016 there were $5.7 million in expenditures from the special sales tax fund against $5.4 million in revenues. That left a cash reserve of $2.65 million.

The half-cent sales tax this year was trending 8.5 percent higher on Feb. 28 than the prior year while expenditures were 4.5 percent higher. The gap is misleading as four of the positions funded by the sales tax are currently unfilled.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com