Council Democrats Respond to Ballard's Budget Proposal
By Alex Brown - alex@wibc.com | @WIBC_AlexBrown
8/14/2012
(WIBC.com photo: Alex Brown)
Mayor Ballard presented his budget proposal to the City-County Council Monday and council Democrats and others have responded.
Listen:
Council President Maggie Lewis says they are frustrated that they hadn't seen the mayor's budget proposal until it was given to them at Monday night's council meeting. Lewis says they want to work with the mayor's administration but it's getting harder to do so. "We are committed to doing what is best for this city," Lewis says. "We are committed to doing what's best for families in our community. We are just going to need the administration to work with us and put down our differences so that we can truly create a balanced budget."
Council Democrats say they have a number of concerns with the mayor's budget including a raise in property taxes for homeowners and the lack of money to recruit new IMPD and IFD officers. Ballard says some homeowners may see an average increase of 24 dollars in their property taxes. Lewis says they will seek the public's input on the issue. "I think that's important that we take it to the community," she says. "This impacts their pocketbook and so I think it's important that we have a conversation with the taxpayers regarding that."
The Fraternal Order of Police also has a concern with having no new IMPD recruits. FOP First Vice President Rick Snyder says they have less than 16-hundred officers which is not enough to adequately police the streets of Indianapolis. "In April, we put forward the FOP's ten step stabilization plan and the immediate response of the mayor's administration was to scoff at it and say that it was ridiculous and now what we're finding out is they're signing on to many of the same principles that we included in there," Snyder says. "What we want to do is say we want to sit at the table and help participate in this process."
Lewis says they will begin going over the mayor's budget and work to come up with a compromise.
MORE FROM WIBC NEWS:
» Mayor Greg Ballard Submits Proposed City Spending Plan (8-13-12)
