The King City Police Sergeants Association and King City Police Officers Association urge you to vote “Yes” on Measure P this election. Passing this measure will raise our local sales tax by only a half cent — bringing us to the same rate already used by almost every other city in Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties.
Our officers live and work in this community and are dedicated to building a police department you can rely on and be proud of. Most of us chose to serve here because we want to make a real difference. But due to tight city budgets, our department operates with far fewer officers than most communities our size, even as we face growing public safety demands.
Our primary focus remains on crime prevention and gang suppression — a complex issue that requires constant, direct action on the ground. While we’ve made real headway with strong suppression and aggressive enforcement, local gangs are constantly trying to recruit a new generation. Proactive police work is critical to keeping our community safe. We can’t afford to lose ground. We need the tools and manpower to step up crime prevention, proactively target active gang members, and build solid cases to put violent offenders behind bars.
At the same time, persistent staffing shortages leave our officers stretched thin, which directly impacts emergency response times when you call for help. Officers routinely work well over their scheduled shifts and are required to work on their days off. With limited personnel tied up on priority calls, we simply do not have the coverage to conduct routine proactive policing — like neighborhood patrols, traffic safety, crime prevention and handling code enforcement or animal control issues. We need adequate shift coverage to reduce officer fatigue and ensure we can respond quickly when every second counts.
Measure P guarantees locally controlled funding that is protected from state takeovers, giving us the resources to keep our streets safe. We’re all in this together. Please help us protect our community, protect our youth, support our officers and keep King City safe by voting “Yes” on Measure P.
Chris Langston
President, King City Police Sergeants Association
Robert Ramon
President, King City Police Officers Association
