9/13/2012 - South Side Leader
     

SPRINGFIELD — Voters in Springfield will be asked to approve the renewal of a 3-mill police levy on the Nov. 6 General Election ballot.

The five-year levy, Issue No. 60, is due to expire Dec. 31, 2012. The levy, first approved in 1992, generates $465,467 annually for the police department, according to Police Chief John Smith. He said about $64,000 of those funds were lost last year to the department due to foreclosure issues.

Residents of Lakemore will not be voting on this issue, according to Smith. Lakemore, which contracts with Springfield for police services, uses General Fund money to pay for the village’s share of services, he explained.

The levy is a renewal of an existing one and will not result in an increase in property taxes, according to Smith.

Smith added the revenue from the levy is crucial for the department, as it represents about one-quarter of the police department’s operations budget.

“Without this, we would have to lay people off and cut services,” Smith said. “We do need more money, but the decision was made to leave the levy as a renewal rather than a replacement, which would collect more, due to the economy.”

Smith said the police department has operated on a lean budget without extras, and much of the success of maintaining a balanced budget has come from the help of the Volunteer Auxiliary Springfield Police (VASP), which handles traffic control and other noncriminal police services, freeing up police for more serious work.

“We created VASP to reduce our budget, and they have really helped extend police services and save us money,” said Smith.

Trustee Dean Young said police department personnel passed on raises for a year due to budget constraints.

“It is important for people to know that our police department is wisely using taxpayer money,” said Young. “They have done an excellent job of using funds efficiently.

“Looking at costs and how things have gone up, the department could have asked for more and it is not,” he added. “They are planning to manage, knowing that these are tough economic times for people.”

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