Published: November 21, 2008 01:06 am      

HAUB: FOP leader writes to dispel local tax, police ‘myths’

The members of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 99 have asked me to write this letter to explain our support for the Floyd County Council to implement the Local Option Income Tax, or LOIT, here in our community.

Some would have you believe that our position on this issue is based on greed. Nothing could be further from the truth. We do not view the revenue potentially generated by the LOIT as a way to increase our pay and benefits package. We view the LOIT as the only possible way for us to be in the position to provide the members of this community with the level of police service they so richly deserve.

There has been a myth floating around for years that the New Albany Police Department is the highest paid police department in the state of Indiana. This is nothing more than a myth and far from the truth. Based on statistics compiled by the Indiana State Fraternal Order of Police, the NAPD was the fourth highest paid police department in 1996. As of May of 2008, the NAPD is the 40th highest paid in the state. This dramatic drop is largely due to concessions made by our members in our contract with the city. Projections show that the NAPD will drop to the 45th highest paid police department in Indiana by 2010.

Our membership believes that these statistics clearly show that we are not “greedy people.” Rather, we are dedicated public servants, who are always willing to make sacrifices for the greater good of the community we love and serve.

You will often hear the statistic that the city’s fire and police departments take up 84 percent of the budget. Our members do not dispute this number. We do dispute those who use this statistic as another example of our greed. In reality, police and fire always consume the majority of a community’s budget. It is important to remember that police and fire departments are “on the clock” 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Other city divisions are only required to provide services 40 hours a week with holidays off.

It is also important to acknowledge that New Albany has privatized sanitation, downsized the street department and the city garage and compromised basic services across the board. Besides police and fire, what services do we actually offer our citizens? Does it surprise anyone that police and fire take up so much of the budget?

We believe that it is important for all of our citizens to be aware that New Albany has some of the highest crime rates in our state. It is equally important for you to know that we also have one of the smallest police departments in the state. With only 60 police officers to serve a community of over 37,000 people, we have the fifth worst officer-to-civilian ratio in the state. Amongst second-class cities (there are 18 that meet the definition under Indiana state statute), we have the highest crime rates and the smallest police department.

Due to budget restraints, our ability to provide this community with quality police service has been compromised for several years. New Albany’s general fund simply is not big enough to cover the expenses of basic services. With the property tax reform, the general fund is going to get dramatically smaller in the near future. If no other source of revenue is found, services will be compromised even further.

Our membership feels that it is very important that all citizens of New Albany realize how this budget shortfall will affect their “day to day” quality of life. Due to manpower shortages, there will be no school crossing guards or school resource officers. Due to budget shortages, civilian employees will be laid off, and we will work with only five uniformed officers patrolling the entire city a great deal of the time. With the elimination of overtime, detectives, crime scene investigators, canine handlers and SWAT, personnel will no longer be able to be activated from an off-duty status.

For the past two years, nonviolent crimes, including residential burglaries with significant property loss, have not been followed up on or investigated due to our high rates of violent crime. This practice will continue, and get even worse, if a new source of revenue is not implemented.

I’d like to close this letter on a personal note. I am a police officer and married to a public school teacher. We are middle-class Americans in every way. We are raising our 6-year-old, severely autistic son here in New Albany. We have no savings, and we literally live “paycheck to paycheck.” Our son will need a lifetime of services and will need to be institutionalized sooner rather than later. My wife and I need every penny we make for our son’s care. I resent paying taxes, but I do realize that basic services are not free.

I support the implementation of LOIT, and I am willing to pay my share because I know what is at risk. Nothing is more important to me than my son, but I do believe in the concept of the “greater good.” I love this community and I am truly invested in it. I am willing to sacrifice a little more and dig a little deeper to give my community a chance to thrive.

Without the implementation of the LOIT, our police department has no chance of being successful in providing this community with the quality of service it deserves.



Paul M. Haub is president of the FOP Lodge 99, New Albany.