2008 Woodie Awards
City council to debate police funding, tax hike
Brady Holt
Issue date: 5/15/08 Section: News
Inter-Semester Update: May 26, 2008
The city of College Park is poised for a last-minute budget battle that threatens a proposed boost in police funding, after once-supportive council members have grown wary of a tax hike because of constituent backlash.
At stake are funding for city services and the city's plan to double funding for police, which are at odds with an 8 percent increase in city taxes. Although the council had agreed on a budget more than a month ago that veteran council members expected to pass with ease, tomorrow's meeting promises a lively debate as the council faces a June 1 deadline to formally vote on a budget.
"We have never had anything terribly drastic happen at budget time. We've had a few close calls, but I don't think we ever went into a vote that we weren't optimistic it would work out," longtime District 2 Councilman Bob Catlin said at last Tuesday's meeting. "What I heard tonight makes me less optimistic than any other time in 11 years."
If the council does not vote on a budget tomorrow, the city will adopt the version proposed by the city staff, which includes the tax hikes and police funding increase but leaves out some smaller changes the council discussed during a Saturday budget session.
The unexpected contention led to a near-shouting match between District 3 Councilman Mark Cook and College Park finance director Steve Groh at last week's meeting. Cook suggested cutting 5 percent of the funding to each department of the city to make ends meet without a tax hike. Cook did not elaborate on how the cuts could be made, but opponents said it would be unfair because many departments' proposed budgets grew only enough to account for cost-of-living increases.
As an alternative to Cook's plan, District 4 Councilwoman Karen Hampton suggested eliminating the extra police funding entirely, which angered Student Government Association President Jonathan Sachs, who said safety is and should be on the forefront of many residents' minds.
The city of College Park is poised for a last-minute budget battle that threatens a proposed boost in police funding, after once-supportive council members have grown wary of a tax hike because of constituent backlash.
At stake are funding for city services and the city's plan to double funding for police, which are at odds with an 8 percent increase in city taxes. Although the council had agreed on a budget more than a month ago that veteran council members expected to pass with ease, tomorrow's meeting promises a lively debate as the council faces a June 1 deadline to formally vote on a budget.
"We have never had anything terribly drastic happen at budget time. We've had a few close calls, but I don't think we ever went into a vote that we weren't optimistic it would work out," longtime District 2 Councilman Bob Catlin said at last Tuesday's meeting. "What I heard tonight makes me less optimistic than any other time in 11 years."
If the council does not vote on a budget tomorrow, the city will adopt the version proposed by the city staff, which includes the tax hikes and police funding increase but leaves out some smaller changes the council discussed during a Saturday budget session.
The unexpected contention led to a near-shouting match between District 3 Councilman Mark Cook and College Park finance director Steve Groh at last week's meeting. Cook suggested cutting 5 percent of the funding to each department of the city to make ends meet without a tax hike. Cook did not elaborate on how the cuts could be made, but opponents said it would be unfair because many departments' proposed budgets grew only enough to account for cost-of-living increases.
As an alternative to Cook's plan, District 4 Councilwoman Karen Hampton suggested eliminating the extra police funding entirely, which angered Student Government Association President Jonathan Sachs, who said safety is and should be on the forefront of many residents' minds.
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