Thursday, April 13, 2006
Plan for More Police a Gamble
Gambling money as the funding source for a multitude of public goods and services—think property tax relief, convention center hotel, convention center operations, Pittsburgh International Airport, a new hockey arena, just to name a few in this corner of the state—just had another potential use tacked on. That’s because the City police union wants to use $5 million of the $50 million license fee to hire 100 police officers to get a jump on the criminal maladies sure to arise from putting a casino in the City.
It is dubious to believe that $5 million would cover the cost of all the officers for several reasons. One is because the cost of putting an officer on the street is well above $50,000. And since the state decided to allow these valuable licenses sell for the one-time price of $50 million, the $5 million would only cover one year of police service, even if the number were below 100 officers. Of course, the union plan calls for gaming tax revenue to cover future years, thus getting us further away from the original intent of using gaming money to reduce property taxes.
Additionally, a preliminary report from the Gaming Board submitted to the General Assembly states that the Pennsylvania State Police will handle “criminal investigation and enforcement…at licensed gaming facilities”. Since that appears to cover related crime that happens outside the casino, it raises questions about the City union’s plan for targeted enforcement because of gambling. The legislation does guarantee a portion of the money to go to Pittsburgh, but that money will likely compete with needs like debt reduction or tax cuts instead of adding more police.
The Mayor appears to be committed to holding the current level of officers to see if Pittsburgh can do more with less. That’s the right approach in this time of financial recovery to ensure the City gets better. That approach ought not to be abandoned because of the promise of slots money.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06101/681139-53.stm
It is dubious to believe that $5 million would cover the cost of all the officers for several reasons. One is because the cost of putting an officer on the street is well above $50,000. And since the state decided to allow these valuable licenses sell for the one-time price of $50 million, the $5 million would only cover one year of police service, even if the number were below 100 officers. Of course, the union plan calls for gaming tax revenue to cover future years, thus getting us further away from the original intent of using gaming money to reduce property taxes.
Additionally, a preliminary report from the Gaming Board submitted to the General Assembly states that the Pennsylvania State Police will handle “criminal investigation and enforcement…at licensed gaming facilities”. Since that appears to cover related crime that happens outside the casino, it raises questions about the City union’s plan for targeted enforcement because of gambling. The legislation does guarantee a portion of the money to go to Pittsburgh, but that money will likely compete with needs like debt reduction or tax cuts instead of adding more police.
The Mayor appears to be committed to holding the current level of officers to see if Pittsburgh can do more with less. That’s the right approach in this time of financial recovery to ensure the City gets better. That approach ought not to be abandoned because of the promise of slots money.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06101/681139-53.stm
