Jan
10
Crown Point Brings Back Novel Police Funding Solution
Filed Under Crown Point, David Uran, police, property tax crisis | Leave a Comment
How does a municipality raise money for police without raising taxes?
By developing novel solutions to funding problems.
Crown Point is bringing back its police car sponsorship program that began in 1995, reports the Post-Tribune’s Diane Krieger Spivak.
The Crown Point Police Department is reinstating its Adopt-a-Car program, whereby a business can lend its name to a squad car bumper for a $2,000 donation.
Pete Land, who was reinstated as police chief when former police officer Dave Uran took over as the city’s new mayor this month, got the go-ahead from the Board of Works and Safety on Wednesday to bring back the program.
“It’s a win-win situation,” said Uran, who remembers the program from when he served on the force.
The money is used to equip squad cars with emergency equipment such as light bars, radios and video equipment.
Jan
7
CP Mayor Proposes Budget Streamlining
Filed Under Crown Point, David Uran, Income Tax, budget cut, taxes | 4 Comments
Newly elected Crown Point Mayor David Uran — preparing for a reduction in funding because of frozen budget levies — proposes streamlining Crown Point’s budget at tonight’s City Council meeting, reports the Northwest Indiana Times‘ Marisa Kwiatkowski.
Mayor David Uran said Crown Point was warned it might need to grapple with the budget freeze. With less than a week in office, he said he has come up with several initiatives to streamline efficiency and spending.
The mayor’s office will be restructured and city positions eliminated to a savings of about $65,000, under four ordinances Uran will present to the City Council tonight.
While I’d like to see more police and firefighters protecting the community — you can never have too many police officers around when you need them and my cousin is a lieutenant with a fire department in another state — I’m willing to sacrifice by sticking with 2007’s budget levels while the city looks over its budget and finds ways to hold the line on spending.
I’m sure Crown Point will figure out a way to make the budget work by cutting back in other areas where they may be room to cut. It’s good to see that the new mayor is taking steps to prepare for solutions to the budget freeze before the predict crunch becomes reality.
It’s a tough deal, but households all over Northwest Indiana have to routinely make tough budget decisions to keep from busting the family budget, so government officials should feel a little better know they aren’t alone in sometimes having to wait a while before purchasing something.
(H/T to BCBS).
