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Richard Piatt ReportingSalt Lake City's Mayor wants to beef up the city police department and is willing to raise taxes to do it.
These days you don't hear the words 'tax' and 'increase' in the same sentence, unless it's really serious. To Rocky Anderson it is serious--an investment he says is worth it. It is the demands on police officers, not more crime, that brings 'tax increase' from the lips of Salt Lake City's mayor. What taxpayers would get is 15 more officers in the bicycle squad.
Rocky Anderson,Salt Lake City Mayor: "This increase will allow for seven day a week coverage. These officers will also be allowed to respond to specific problem areas."
In an age where people dial 9-1-1 for anything and everything, city police get spread thin. High demand affects emergency response times, patrol decisions, how long it takes to process crime scenes.
When a man was stabbed in Liberty park a few weeks ago, there was an immediate call for more police in the park. The Chair of the Liberty Wells community council says he'd appreciate stepped up patrols in his neighborhood.
Brian Watkins, Liberty-Wells Community Council: "We've actually been able to notice that people have been shifted around or let go because of the limits in staffing. So adding 15 officers would certainly be an improvement."
The one and a half million dollar tax hike would mean about 10-dollars more a year for the owner of a 150-thousand dollar home. And in a tight budget year it isn't going over well with council members.
Dave Buhler, Salt Lake City Council: "I'm convinced we can take care of the essential needs there without raising property taxes."
Van Turner, Salt Lake City Council: "I don't think this is the time to raise taxes, no. Not for this issue."
Higher taxes might be a hard sell, but it's a price the police chief thinks people might be willing to pay.
Rick Dinse, Salt Lake City Police Chief: "They'd like to see more police. And the amount of money we're talking about here is really a small amount."
There will be a fight over the property tax increase, but the mayor has something else slipped into the budget too -- higher parking meter fees to generate more money for the city.
