Another Abridged Community Press Letter

By Tom Pfahler

Police Tax Levy and Road Tax Levy

I spent a good portion of the afternoon with Bart West (Lt.Col. green police), who was most informative regarding the needs of the township police department. Without going into the mountain of details presented to me, I'll cut to the bottom line. I was told that the police department has an annual budget of $3 million and that this budget is provided by the general fund of the township. I also talked to Robert Weitzel, fire chief, who stated that the annual budget of the fire department is currently at $4 million. Weitzel also averred that, as of this year, the fire department now takes its monies from the general fund.

These two departments account for 63+% of the much-vaunted $11 million currently penned up in the general fund. As a political outsider, it appears to me that the general fund has more than enough monies to provide for fire and police protection within the township.

I understand that maintenance and administrative personnel & costs have not been accounted. I understand that the proposed police levy is a renewal of an extant township tax burden. I understand that the township's officer per capita quotient is very high and that the cost per officer-on a mil to dollar ratio-is very low when compared with other townships.

However, I also know that our police department is supplemented by the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department. (From what Bart told me, the sheriff's department is the police force in most dire need of additional funding.) I also know that the average cost of each township police officer, including mandated deductions, retirement, and medical coverage, comes to $75,000 per position per annum.

Again, from my understanding, as of last year at this time, the windfall John Schiff inheritance was to have covered the costs of what now appear to be budget exigencies. How has this money been spent? This is the question that the voters should keep in mind when voting on November, the sixth.

In a time of serious economic downturn and rampant layoffs, I can not, in good conscience, support the proposed levies...given the facts I've been able to garner. It's time the township takes a healthy dose of fiscal conservatism.

On the stump, TCP