WHERE CAN WE MAKE CUTS?

 update: 031920151738

CORRECTION

In my article titled “Where Can We Make Cuts? I made a mistake.  According to the Town Manager, 01-115 Crime Insurance pertaining to all town employees and therefore should remain under 01-115 Insurance.  This would reduce the total operating cost of the Police Department by $991.00.  The total Cost of operating the Police Department should be $1,828,412.00. 

The Town Manager presented the initial proposed municipal budget.  Below is the true cost for the Police Department.  There is no wonder our taxes are so high for this bedroom community.  For numerous years, the Concerned Citizens have been trying to tell the people what the actual cost of operating the Police Department really was but a lot of expenditures were hidden elsewhere in the budget.  Our new Town Manager has made it easier to locate all the expenditures in the budget.  I only wish that she would put all the expenditures under the departments thus enabling the taxpayers to see the TOTAL OPERATING COST OF EACH DEPARTMENT.  This would make it a lot easier to see where to make cuts.

 The following is what the taxpayers are forced to pay for a police force.

            1,332,877.00 – Police

                  82,490.00 – Animal Control

                339,784.00 – Dispatch/Communication Center

            1,755,151.00  TOTAL

 However, this is not the actual cost because the following expenditures are elsewhere in the budget:

                     9,559.00 – Police Liability is under 01-115 Insurance

                        991.00 – Crime Insurance is under 01-115 Insurance

                   17,604.00 – PD Full Service Support is under 01-135 Technology, Service

                                         & Support Agreement

                   14,285.00 – Tritech PD is under 01-135 Technology, Service & Support

                                          Agreement

                      6,078.00 – 13 PDPatrol is under 09-900 Debt Service for leased vehicle

                      5,952.00 – K9 Unit is under 09-900 Debt Service for leased vehicle

                      9,380.00 – 14 PDPatrol is under 09-900 Debt Service for leased vehicle

                   10,403.00 – 15 PDPatrol is under 09-900 Debt Service for leased vehicle            

                    74,252.00  TOTAL

 The total operating cost of the Police Department to the taxpayers is the sum of these two figures:

1,755,151.00  

      74,252.00

1,829,403.00  TOTAL OPERATING COST OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT

How close is this to two million?

 2,000,000.00

1,829,403.00

   170,597.00

It is ridiculous for taxpayers to be paying almost 2 million ($2,000,000.00) for the Police Department in our community.  The taxpayers do not have this kind of money especially when the County can provide the same service at a cost considerably less than we are paying now.  My guess is that we could save close to a million (1,000,000.00) tax dollar thus reducing our taxes.

Why are we allowing this to go on?  Please call your councilors and the Town Manager and let’s reduce the operating cost of the Police Department.  I have recommended several times each year that the town ask the County for a quote to take over the operations of the Police Department.

Larry Fillmore