South Bend's mayor outlines drastic cuts to balance budget if LOIT failsby Jim Pinkerton (jmpinkerton@wsbt.com)
SOUTH BEND — The city is preparing to make deep cuts to its police and fire departments as the mayor makes his case for a tax increase. MultimediaSouth Bend faces a $24.5 million dollar budget deficit because of property tax reform. Mayor Steve Luecke says that means, just in the police and fire departments, 81 people could lose their jobs. Fire stations could close down from time to time, and parks and pools would be shutdown. The mayor says increasing the Local Option Income Tax could prevent most of these cuts. Luecke pushed LOIT last year and no other governments supported it, but now, the county government is in financial trouble of its own, so talk of raising the income tax is on the table again. Wednesday night, Luecke laid out the doomsday scenario if that tax doesn't pass. Together, police and fire make up about 65 percent of the city's general fund budget. The cuts the mayor is proposing would eliminate most of the loss from property tax caps, but not all of it. The plan eliminates 19 police officers beginning in October. Twelve civilian positions would also be cut; so would five part-time officers. The city would also stop providing police escorts for parades and special event. The fire department would see a bigger staff cut. Forty-five fewer firefighters would be on the job — that includes 10 fewer paramedics and one assistant chief position. The city would also close some fire stations periodically and the mayor fears that could increase some response times around the city. Outside of public safety, the parks department would take the next biggest hit. It makes up more than 13 percent of the city's general fund budget. The mayor says it would need to close all city pools, the East Race Waterway, the greenhouse and conservatory at Potawatomi Park, the Howard Park Ice Rink and the Newman Recreation Center. The city is still reviewing whether Potawatomi Zoo would need to be closed and if the city would need to shorten the golf season at the three city-run golf courses. The impact on other departments affects city workers. They would see a reduction in health benefits and would not get a raise for the second year. A spokesperson for the mayor said budget projections for 2011 and 2012 show things could get even worse. Both the city and the county will take up the local option income tax next week, but passage would likely be up to South Bend and St. Joe County. Despite the fact that Mishawaka cut 35 jobs and is streamlining departments, Mayor Jeff Rea said he's not ready to support a tax increase. Most PopularMore Good Stuff |
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