New Police Facility Proposal

In 2014, the Odessa Police Department was relocated to a "temporary" location - a 1,850-square-foot building constructed in 1947, previously used as a school shop classroom. Click here to learn more about the current building issues and view photos of the current police station. It was agreed by Odessa city leadership that the current police headquarters lacks sufficient space to perform efficient police operations. A needs assessment was performed to identify building deficiencies and how to address the city's long-term facilities needs. 

In April of 2024, a half-cent sales tax was presented to the Odessa voters to support the construction of a new facility, but the tax did not pass. However, the need for an adequate police building still exists, as the current facility is too small, in poor condition, presents safety hazards, and lacks security. A Police Facility Focus Group was formed in October of 2024, with citizen volunteers from the Odessa community, to re-evaluate this need and recommend options that align with public values, support the operational requirements of the police department, and ensure the fiscal responsible use of taxpayer dollars. After much deliberation, community input, and extensive research (including the examination of existing properties in Odessa), the Police Facility Focus Group unanimously recommended the construction of a new police facility on the city-owned property located at 104 E Dryden, the field directly across from the Odessa Post Office. 

To finance the construction of this project, the Focus Group proposed place a 3/8-cent Public Safety Sales Tax question on the ballot for voter approval on the April 7, 2026, election. The revenue would be used to pay the financing obligations to construct, improve, equip, and maintain a police station with those expenditures subject to oversight by a citizen advisory committee. The 3/8-cent Public Safety Sales Tax is designed to fund a maximum $4.9 million project which includes both hard costs (actual construction) and soft costs (architectural fees, surveying, testing, site development, security equipment, furnishings, and technology). We encourage you to read the consolidated summary of the financial plan for the use of the tax for more information.

This is NOT the previous proposal. This approach is about addressing Odessa's urgent public safety needs, not competing with other towns. This plan reflects a direct response to the community's concerns and is fundamentally more conservative. 

• A lower tax rate - 3/8-cent vs 1/2-cent
• Drastically smaller (size and cost) than previous design
• Guaranteed sunset clause - tax ends when debt is paid
• Citizen advisory committee to oversee revenue

The sketch below is an illustrative site plan comparison to show the previous design's square footage compared to the nearly 53% reduction required by the focus group.