From the Indianapolis Star:
Budget disputes between Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard and City-County Council Democrats hinge on how to close a police funding gap next year while reaching for a common goal: hiring dozens of police recruits.
On Monday, the council approved a police tax district expansion pushed by the Republican mayor on the same day that council Democratic leaders unveiled an alternative to another mayor-backed tax plan they have rejected.
The Democrats’ alternative budget would rely on a series of transfers, mostly from parking meter, information technology and roadwork funds, to keep city and county funds from going into the red next year.
It would pay for 80 police recruits in 2014 and fill an expected $9 million police budget gap — one created when they spurned Ballard’s request to eliminate the homestead property tax credit for most homeowners.
The Democrats’ bid sets up a potential clash with Ballard in the final weeks of the council’s consideration of next year’s $1 billion city-county budget.
Ballard’s chief of staff, Ryan Vaughn, called the Democrats’ plan unsustainable, saying it fails to cover some recurring costs after next year and “spends money like it’s going out of style.”
A more bipartisan reception on Monday met Ballard’s police tax district expansion, which would spread the burden for that tax from areas within old city limits to most of the county. Some called it a matter of fairness.
It passed 15-12, with support from six Democrats and nine Republicans.
That district’s tax rate is added to property tax bills only in the old city limits. The proposal would expand its boundaries to the county line, boosting taxes in outlying areas of Marion County by charging a new rate set at 11.4 cents per $100 of assessed value. (It would exclude Speedway, Beech Grove, Lawrence and Southport.)
Property owners who already pay the police rate would see it cut by 68 percent. Overall, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department would get a $1.3 million boost next year.
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See the full article here:
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013309230067
