While there will be plenty of tough decisions in front of county voters during the upcoming state primary election Aug. 2, there is one item on the ballot box that should be a no-brainer choice to make —renewing the millage rate for the Cass County Drug Enforcement Team.

The countywide ballot proposal will ask for voters as to whether or not they approve a renewal of the .4805 millage rate for another four years that will fund the operations of the county drug task force. If approved by voters, the assessment will bring in an estimated $952,179 worth of tax dollars.

We enthusiastically support this renewal, and hope that county voters once again choose to stamp their approval of the measure.

For more than a decade, members of the Cass County Drug Enforcement Team have dedicated their careers to getting illegal narcotics and substances off the streets and out of homes.

Just over the last four years alone, the drug team has took a sizable bite out the local drug scene, seizing more than $3.5 million worth of drugs and making nearly 550 arrests, according to numbers complied by CCDET.

While the team’s efforts have mainly been focused on battling methamphetamine production and use throughout the county, in recent years CCDET detectives have also dealt with the rise of prescription drug abuse and subsequent increase of heroin use.

While local drug use will likely never disappear completely, we shudder to think of what conditions our communities would be if CCDET had not been in place these past 11 years.

On top of just their efforts to eliminate drug use, though, detectives with the task force have proved to be an invaluable asset for county law enforcement efforts in general, lending a hand in police investigations of everything from bank robberies to homicide investigations.

According to police leaders, the experience that members of the drug team gain during their tenure is invaluable, as the skills they acquire and hone while fighting drugs carry over when they rotate back into regular police duties.

For these reasons, we feel that every county voter should choose to renew the millage and keep the drug team running strong. It’s a small price to pay for our continued safety.

 

Opinions expressed are those of the editorial board consisting of Publisher Michael Caldwell and editors Ambrosia Neldon, Craig Haupert, Ted Yoakum and Scott Novak.