Police Department Days Numbered

After the Special Council Meeting on May 26,2009 regarding the budget of the General Fund and Police Fund I'am at a loss. The meeting started at 6:30pm and I managed to get home by about 10:30. Sheriff Ward was present. He addressed some concerns regarding the Safety of the community. He said he would try to help within his means, however the very best Police Protection would only from a local Lynchburg Police Department.
I covered a history of the Department, and statistics relevant to the budget from 2004 to 2009. Police Chief Wooton addressed manpower, crime Statistics, call records, and the situation regarding decreased Police around the county and how that has affected the Community. He even explained the large amount of administrative duties that have to be done in order to have a Police Department. A breakdown of an officer pay was handed out so that everyone could clearly see what it took to pay an officer from an expenditure and revenue standpoint.
The Council Members had no ideas on what to do and how to assist in protecting the community, though they did say they felt it was a serious problem. They only came up with three solutions which were borrow money, impose a 1% income tax, or run the levy again and hope it passes.They each made it clear that the Police Department might in fact not exist in a few months.
I also explained the severe deficit in the General Fund which pays for many of the Village Services and the fact that in the past the water deposit money had been tapped into and needed to be re payed. It seems the water deposit money may have been depleted between 2003 to 2008. Several documents show the needed amount, one was the Glenavy Sewerage Project match in 2007. Others include transfers between 2003 and 2007 the General fund. With these shortfalls, the Police could not use any money from General to make up for its budget the way it had apparently been done in the past. I will cover the information in the next several days through a series of entries. I will express some of the issues, with substantiated information about the serious situation that is playing out.
I cannot solve this problem alone. The Governing Body is the 6 Council Members, and they have the power to appropriate, budget, and legislate. I warned in January of 2008 that I believed the Village was on the verge of a fiscal watch or even a fiscal emergency, and I still believe that we are not clear from that. The ORC requires me to inform Council on Budgetary issues and I have. I do not feel that the Council are being proactive in solving any problem. I feel they continue to wait and time is running out on several levels and with several issues. As some stand by and watch, problems are worsening. There are no easy answers, however it will take some serious thinking and work to find solutions and understand the problems. I believe we really have a chance to take the problems and turn them into opportunities. With work, we could emerge in a better position.
Last, I will tell you what the Council voted unanimously to do. They approved borrowing $20,000 from the last tax draw from the Police in October. Have that advanced through a bank to be used now. In addition they voted to have the Auditor Certify the amount of properties for another Ballot issue in the Fall. They had missed the deadline to add a ballot issue at a special election, which would have been August.