HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-01-10 80% of General Fund keeps public safety at full strength
Office of the Mayor
NEWS RELEASE
September 1, 2010
3:30 p.m.
80% of General Fund keeps public safety at full strength
Contact:
Mikki Dobski, Director of Communications & Special Projects, 235-5855 or 876-1564,
Gregg Zientara, City Controller, 235-9216, Police Chief Darryl Boykins, 235-9201, or Fire Chief
Howard Buchanon, 235-9255
South Bend Police and Fire departments will operate at full strength in 2011 thanks to the
Local Option Public Safety Tax, ongoing federal stimulus assistance and a growing
percentage of the City’s General Fund budget devoted to public safety.
More than 80 percent of the City’s 2011 General Fund budget is devoted public safety –
Police, Fire and the 911 Communications Center – compared with 75 percent as recently
as 2009. The expanded funding has enabled the Police Department to bring its number of
sworn officers from 248 to full strength at 260 in eight months, with the Fire Department
reaching its full strength of 248 firefighters during 2010.
In a budget presentation today to the South Bend Common Council, Mayor Stephen J.
Luecke and City Controller Gregg Zientara said the nearly $5 million projected to be
generated annually by the Public Safety tax will be transferred into the General Fund,
where its appropriation will support additional police officers and firefighters.
“Public safety is the City’s top priority, accounting for eight of every $10 tax dollars in
our General Fund,” Luecke said. “These resources have enabled us to put more public-
safety personnel on the street and to allocate our strength where it’s most needed.”
The Public Safety Tax is allowing Police Chief Darryl Boykins to move towards fully
staffing the midnight shift and implementing a new Street Crimes Unit, which allows the
expansion of special patrols to targeted areas.
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The Police Department’s proposed 2011 General Fund budget will increase 2.54 percent
to $29 million.
The Fire Department, beginning in 2011, is proposing to replace two outdated firehouses.
Plans are to construct new fire stations to replace Station No. 5, at 2221 Prairie Ave., and
Station No. 8, at 2402 Twyckenham Drive. Other equipment needs include purchasing
two new pumper trucks and a new ambulance, while continuing efforts to launch a
departmental training facility.
The Fire Department’s proposed 2011 General Fund budget will increase 3.27 percent to
$22.5 million
In 2010, the Fire Department is preparing to purchase a new quintuple combination
pumper to replace a 1986 unit with help from a $750,000 Assistance to Firefighter grant.
The “quint” will serve the dual purpose of an engine and a ladder truck, providing five
functions: pump, water tank, fire hose, aerial device and ground ladders. The department
also plans purchases of a new pumper and firefighter escape systems, but already has
refurbished an aerial platform truck and bought a new ambulance unit. With help from a
$450,000 federal grant, the Fire Department began using a new Emergency Driver
Training Simulator, which is shared with other departments in the region.
With a federal matching grant, police in 2010 implemented a $353,000 Automated
Fingerprint Identification System for palm print recognition, expanding the department’s
existing technical capacity to match fingerprints to federal databases. Working with
private contributors, police also created a nonprofit Police Athletic League to operate
youth programs for boxing and tennis, with an eye to expanding programs to swimming
and fine arts in 2011.
Reported incidents of major crimes – Part 1 offenses such as murder, burglary and rape –
were down 12 percent in 2009. In fact, the total major crime incidents recorded by South
Bend Police in 2009 reached their lowest level in at least 40 years.
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