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Council Democrats Have a Secret

If City-County Council Democrats have a secret plan to pay for public safety that does not involve the elimination of the property tax homestead credit I for one will be waiting with baited breath to see exactly what it is and whether it will actually add up.

My colleague Jon Murray pens an article in this morning’s Indianapolis Star where Democrats say they have a plan that will give IMPD and IFD their raises while still keeping the homestead credit in place.  Here’s the problem Democrats face.

The raises for IMPD and IFD would cost $5.5 million, a new recruit class would cost about $6 million and keeping the homestead would cost $13 million.  So  where are the Democrats going to find close to $25 million?  With all due respect, these guys don’t have the best track record when it comes to finances.

The city is paying $9 million in interest annually because of a $100 million loan taken out a few years back to pay for operating expenses.  Council Vice-President Brian Mahern has proposed tapping the CIB budget until he realized it had already been passed.  I know where the Council could find $100,000, they could take it out of their budget which they have included to do redistricting that has already been done and passed.  They could try and tap the city’s reserves, but all that does is kick the can down the road because that $25 million is not a one-time expenditure it’s on-going and only gets bigger as time goes by.

So if my Democratic friends have a secret plan to solve this financial problem, I hope it’s a good one because past experiences lead me to think otherwise.

 

Posted: 09|20|12 at 9:31 am by Abdul Hakim-Shabazz
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  • M Theory

    Something has to give because every Marion County resident is paying an increased income tax every payday (since 2007) for 100 new officers which I understand we never got!

    How about this. Need six million for a training class? How about not giving $6 million to a connected campaign contributor to buy a parking garage? Why is there ALWAYS money to give to rich political contributors and not enough money to honor contracts made with the taxpayers?

    The contract with the people to provide an extra 100 officers needs to be honored. My gut tells me this drumbeat is going to get louder within neighborhood groups, including MK.

  • Indy4U2C

    I’m predicting that The Mayor is going to get as strong a reaction from the voters as there was during “Council Wars”. That meeting held up north that I attended regarding the Crime problem was the most attended Crime Watch-related meeting I’ve ever seen, with people standing outside the room and media present!
    The voters are angry about our Mayor failing us by allowing there to be fewer police under his administration than in modern history! We want to be safe in our homes. The news just did a story about how many neighborhoods are actually paying off-duty police to patrol their neighborhoods because there aren’t enough on-duty police anymore. -And with that stupid zone concept, it just isn’t working.

  • Indy4U2C

    Mayor Ballard:
    The voters are angry. The taxpayers are angry about your neglect of public safety. They are angry about home invasions and a jeweler shot in his own home!
    Perhaps you need to remember what it was like during Council Wars!
    Here is a video to remind you what we do…we show up at Council meetings and loudly petition our government for redress of our grievance that you have the smallest police department in modern history due to your neglect. The budget has been mismanaged. You have not taken responsibility…and now have the audacity to propose that we lose more police from attrition without any new-hires on the horizon.
    Mayor: The people are taking this into their own hands and rejecting your failed management of our city!
    Refresh your recollection of what got you elected and just how loud we can be with this video:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0_i4vOQp5c

  • Ramon

    Abdul, i hope you are not trying to claim that Mayor Ballard has a good fiscal track record. That allegation will not fly with the public. We know better.

  • Me

    Abdul, “kick the can down the road” WOW !
    Mayor Ballard is the King of punting the can.
    Campaigning against a County Option Income Tax increase and then when elected you do not repeal it (the WHOLE thing).
    When you promise a raise, knowing you will not honor it is a shady way to get the negotiaions done for the “here and now” and revisit negotiations later.
    When you spend tax revenues on “vote buying projects” with TIF money in the “here and now.” You are going to have budget problems later when that tax revenue is actualy needed for something like, I don’t know, DAILY OPERATING COSTS.
    Just a couple of little “can kickers” that may have slipped your mind. There are plenty more.

  • http://www.facebook.com/StuDanB Stuart Bagley

    How about impeaching Mayor Ballard and using his salary for real people’s needs.

  • g

    The way to save money for hiring police officers is to offer employement to the current 93 reserves. These officers have all ready been to a full academy and could start working full time in a matter of a couple of weeks. They are already trained and fully equiped. Uniforms and cars have already been issused.