Manteca would have 25 percent less police officers and would be unable to staff two of its five fire engine companies without the half percent Measure M sales tax approved by voters in 2006.

The Public Safety Tax Oversight Committee in a report the City Council will receive when they meet tonight at 6 p.m., noted the tax is paying for 20 police positions and 18 firelighter positions.

Measure M receipts means the Manteca Police Department now has 80 police officers with a quarter of the staffing made possible by the half cent sales tax.

The fire department has 45 frontline firefighters with 40 percent of them funded by Measure M.

Given it takes 9 firefighters to staff an engine company (one fire station) 24/7, Manteca would be forced on any given shift to “brown out” two of the  city’s five fire stations if there was no Measure M.

The police would only have 60 officers without the half percent sales tax.

And although there is no standard for staffing per se, many believe the city should strive to have one officer per 1,000.

Manteca, with  a population of 91,000, is 11 officers short of such a staffing level.

Without Measure M, the department would only have 60 or two thirds of the officers to reach the 1 officer per 1,000 plateau.

A $625,000 federal grant is allowing the city to hire 2 officers this year to put the number at 80. The grant will allow one more officer to be hired in 2025 and two more in 2026 to bring the police force total to 83.

The city would then have to pick up the salaries and benefits of the five additional officers going forward.

Manteca needs to fire 9 more firefighters to temporarily add a second engine company to the Union Road station to serve the rapidly growing southwest portion of the city.

Once the city’s sixth fire station is built in the area, the second engine company would be assigned to that station.
Overall, Measure M funds are paying for 30.4 percent of the city’s 125 frontline public safety personnel.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com