Grapevine voters say yes to extending a sale tax for 20 years. What that means

Grapevine voters have overwhelmingly agreed to extend a sales tax that funds the city’s Police Department.

More than 87% of voters on Saturday approved the extension of a half-cent sales tax for another 20 years. The revenue helps pay the salaries and expenses of the police department for all levels including uniformed officers, dispatch, jail operations and criminal investigations.

Mayor William D. Tate told the Star-Telegram on Saturday that the extension was an opportunity for residents to ensure the city doesn’t have to pull money from its general fund.

“We have to have a police department, and you have to pay for it, and right now we’re paying a big part of that, about $17 million through the half-cent tax and 84% of that sales tax is paid by non-residents,” Tate said. “So it’s a great benefit and an opportunity for the people of Grapevine to extend it.”

The passing of the measure means the department will continue to use the tax for another 20-year period.

“It’s important at a local election for the people really to reflect what their wishes are and that’s one thing about this community is that people have a connection to our institutions, and they support them,” Tate said.