Missouri ballot measure looks to support law enforcement benefits

By Jenna Wilson

Missouri voters will decide on several ballot measures during the Nov. 5 general election, including Amendment 6, which aims to support salaries and benefits for law enforcement personnel.

Amendment 6 would include a provision in the Missouri Constitution to include the levying of fees to support salaries and benefits for certain law enforcement employees, including sheriffs, former sheriffs, prosecuting attorneys, former prosecuting attorneys, circuit attorneys and former circuit attorneys.

“The Supreme Court had an interpretation that a sheriff or a retired sheriff wasn’t in the administration of justice,” said Buchanan County Sheriff Bill Puett. “I don’t think anybody can deny that a sheriff is a part of the administration of justice with law enforcement, jail, courts and all those things.”

By ruling of the Supreme Court, court fees are no longer collected and put into the retirement funding of law enforcement personnel, which they are hoping to change on Nov. 5.

As fees continue to not be collected as part of their retirement funds, many law enforcement personnel are retiring with little amount to live off.

“I’ll tell you that some of these guys, they were making less than $1,000 a month retired,” Puett said. “So, there are retired sheriffs that are living off $12,000 a year. That’s bad.”

That amount could decrease even more without approval to levy fees that will support their retirement fund. A “yes” vote will not affect the pockets of Missourians.

It will change the Supreme Court’s ruling of the administration of justice to include sheriffs, prosecutors and circuit judges and allow the courts to go back and start collecting around $3 in fees that have already been assessed to infractions such as a traffic violation and putting it toward their retirement fund.

“This was collected for years,” Puett said. “All this amendment is doing is fixing some language, which would allow the collection of that $3 to be assessed again on all the court costs.”

Buchanan County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Timothy Kissock said this initiative is important for many reasons, including attracting more officers and attorneys to the field amid a nationwide shortage.

“We’re always going to need prosecutors,” Kissock said. “I think it only makes sense that we guarantee an income stream on this. It would go a long ways and help our community so hopefully everyone reads it and will decide for themselves.”

“There’s a lot of law enforcement personnel that put a great amount of time and effort into what they do,” Puett said. “They’re gone a lot of the evenings and the weekends, making sure that they’re taking care of their community and God love everybody for doing that, but if there’s nothing there to look towards, I think it may hurt the effort to encourage more people to step up and take on the role.”

Supporters of the amendment say this will ensure that every Missourian has access to the courts.