Thursday, November 10, 2005
Robberies Way Up in Indy
The Indianpolis Star is reporting that robberies are way up in Indianpolis. The Star cites numerous folks who advance a number of theories. A theory not mentioned in today's story was one that was talked about in a Star editorial last weekend. That is the ongoing pulling and tugging over the size of the Marion County Jail and the release of many offenders.
Mayor Peterson and others are touting a combination of the Marion Sheriff's Department and the Indianapolis Police Department as a way of improving public safety. Peterson has been about the business of cutting the number of police officers while advocating more business subsidies and the construction of the Colts Stadium. From the November 5th Star editorial:
Fred McCarthy at IndyTaxDollars takes issue with that and offers a more rational view.
Unigov was touted as a way of revitalizing the revenue base of the then-exisisting City of Indianapolis boundaries. Those boundaries remain, for the most part, the boundaries of the current Indianapolis Police Department. However, that revenue base has continued to decline in relative terms. Quite a bit of the new construction has either been by non-profit, governmental and otherwise tax-exempt entities. Quite a bit of the rest of that new construction has been the beneficiary of various tax breaks or has had revenue siphoned off to support specially designated districts. How is the cutting of the Indianapolis Police Department an argument for expanding Unigov? Isn't it evidence of its failure?
Mayor Peterson and others are touting a combination of the Marion Sheriff's Department and the Indianapolis Police Department as a way of improving public safety. Peterson has been about the business of cutting the number of police officers while advocating more business subsidies and the construction of the Colts Stadium. From the November 5th Star editorial:
But there's plenty of reason to be concerned. Mayor Bart Peterson announced budget cuts earlier this year that will reduce the police by 78 officers. He also has threatened to lay off another 48 officers if the City-County Council doesn't approve the proposed merger of the Indianapolis Police Department with the Sheriff's Department.
Unigov was touted as a way of revitalizing the revenue base of the then-exisisting City of Indianapolis boundaries. Those boundaries remain, for the most part, the boundaries of the current Indianapolis Police Department. However, that revenue base has continued to decline in relative terms. Quite a bit of the new construction has either been by non-profit, governmental and otherwise tax-exempt entities. Quite a bit of the rest of that new construction has been the beneficiary of various tax breaks or has had revenue siphoned off to support specially designated districts. How is the cutting of the Indianapolis Police Department an argument for expanding Unigov? Isn't it evidence of its failure?
