2008 Woodie Awards
City lobbies state for police
Megan Eckstein
Issue date: 2/28/08 Section: News
Representatives from the university, city and county headed to Annapolis yesterday to lobby a cash-strapped General Assembly for the money to boost police presence downtown.
Sen. Jim Rosapepe (D-Anne Arundel and Prince George's) has proposed a bill that would grant $20 per student to large college towns for increased police protection and require the cities to match that funding.
With state finances tight, the bill faces tight scrutiny. Many lawmakers at yesterday's Senate Budget and Taxation Committee hearing acknowledged they are reluctant to open the purse strings. As written, Rosapepe's bill would cost about $550,000.
Hearings earlier in the afternoon ran long, and so this bill's hearing was noticeably rushed. The committee chairman stopped testimonies short, and few senators bothered asking the panel questions.
But local political leaders and law enforcement made their case yesterday that college towns need financial support to maintain public safety.
"I understand that the state's budget this year is tight," wrote Student Government Association President Andrew Friedson in his official testimony. "However, public safety is not an area where Maryland citizens can afford to have the budget squeezed."
"Quite frankly, we aren't at the level of safety that the people sending their kids to College Park expect," College Park Mayor Stephen Brayman said.
Brayman said the city and the university are cooperating more than ever to keep College Park residents safe, but he said financially he can't do everything he needs to ensure safe neighborhoods.
Brayman lamented that College Park isn't able to pull in enough tax revenue because about half the residents are students, and most of them file their income taxes elsewhere.
University Police Spokesman Paul Dillon said that keeping non-university sections of College Park safe is becoming increasingly important for the university as more students are forced to live off the campus.
Sen. Jim Rosapepe (D-Anne Arundel and Prince George's) has proposed a bill that would grant $20 per student to large college towns for increased police protection and require the cities to match that funding.
With state finances tight, the bill faces tight scrutiny. Many lawmakers at yesterday's Senate Budget and Taxation Committee hearing acknowledged they are reluctant to open the purse strings. As written, Rosapepe's bill would cost about $550,000.
Hearings earlier in the afternoon ran long, and so this bill's hearing was noticeably rushed. The committee chairman stopped testimonies short, and few senators bothered asking the panel questions.
But local political leaders and law enforcement made their case yesterday that college towns need financial support to maintain public safety.
"I understand that the state's budget this year is tight," wrote Student Government Association President Andrew Friedson in his official testimony. "However, public safety is not an area where Maryland citizens can afford to have the budget squeezed."
"Quite frankly, we aren't at the level of safety that the people sending their kids to College Park expect," College Park Mayor Stephen Brayman said.
Brayman said the city and the university are cooperating more than ever to keep College Park residents safe, but he said financially he can't do everything he needs to ensure safe neighborhoods.
Brayman lamented that College Park isn't able to pull in enough tax revenue because about half the residents are students, and most of them file their income taxes elsewhere.
University Police Spokesman Paul Dillon said that keeping non-university sections of College Park safe is becoming increasingly important for the university as more students are forced to live off the campus.
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