Voters in the City of Sacramento approved a sales tax increase in the November election in part to hire new police officers.
Leyne Milstein is the Finance Director for the City of Sacramento. She says the tax doesn't go into effect until April and hiring likely won't take place until July. She will go before the City Council in two weeks to present a spending plan for the money raised from the tax increase, "It can be spent on anything that would come from the general fund, but I think the voters were pretty explicit in what they were told to protect and restore particular city services."
A crime wave of 50 vehicle thefts and 150 burglaries hit downtown beginning in early December. The Police Department has responded by moving several officers to downtown patrols to increase police presence and reduce response times.