Nampa Police Chief Joe Huff says the city's rapid growth has outpaced officer staffing, and a permanent property tax levy on the November ballot aims to close that gap.A permanent $5 million annual property tax levy is headed to Nampa voters this November.The resolution, approved Monday, estimates the average annual cost to taxpayers at 28.93 per 100,000 of taxable assessed value, based on current conditions. WATCH | Nampa voters to decide on $5 million annual levy Nampa voters to decide on $5 million annual levy to fund police officers and training facilityHuff says the money would primarily fund additional officers and a police training facility. Officers have had to travel to Meridian for training."Basically we're throwing it to the taxpayers," Huff said. "What kind of police department do you want?"If approved, Huff says the department could add eight officers each year for three years 24 total including additional first-line supervisors. He says the department needs to act before the staffing gap widens further.RELATED | Nampa police hold public meeting to address e-bike and e-motorcycle laws, safety concerns"I need to get ahead of the curve because we're talking like, you know, six to eight months of downtime before they're actually on the road," Huff said.About 64 officers are currently assigned to patrol. Teams that should have nine officers are often operating with seven. The department responds to 200 to 400 calls for service a day."We have to really pick and choose, I guess, which type of calls we'll respond to, and that's not who we want to be as a city or as a police department," Huff explained.Huff says the staffing shortage is also putting pressure on specialized units across the department."My job and my goal here is to keep a fully functioning police department that's a fully staffed detective division, fully staffed school resource officers division, narcotics division, and you know, on and on and on," Huff said.He says that creates a ripple effect, with patrol officers responding to reports like burglaries and fraud while detectives are needed for follow-up investigations.Recruitment is also becoming more difficult, with some officers leaving for neighboring agencies. New officers can take 32 to 40 weeks to get on the road. Huff says the goal is to keep patrol staffed without pulling officers from specialized units.Nampa's mayor addressed the City Council about the levy's approval threshold."This is not a 50-plus-one, so this is very crucial," Huff explained. "We are not allowed to lobby for it, but it's up to you guys if you want to lobby for it."The levy requires at least 60 percent of Nampa voters to approve it. Because it is permanent, it would provide funding annually if passed.The proposal has been approved and is expected to appear on the ballot this November.For Canyon County happenings, news, and more join our Facebook Group: 2C Neighborhood News - Nampa, Caldwell, MiddletonThis story was initially reported by a journalist and has been, in part, converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. ...read more read less