Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch announced yesterday that more than $107 million in grant funding will be released through the Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) COPS Hiring Program (CHP).
The Attorney General announced funding awards to nearly 200 law enforcement agencies across the nation, aimed at creating, and in some cases protecting, 866 law enforcement positions.
The City of Tallahassee was one of the grant recipients. This was first reported by WCTV.
To see the full list of departments, go here.
WCTV reported the Tallahassee Police Department will receive $1,875,000 to fund 15 new officers for three years.
The DOJ press release said that all “applicants were asked to identify a specific crime and disorder problem area and how funding would be used to initiate or enhance their capacity to implement community policing approaches to that problem area.”
The next question is how will this impact the City’s proposed 13% property tax increase which was promoted as a way to pay for additional police officers?
Stay tuned.
BREAKING NEWS: Feds to Give City $1.85 Million for Police Officers added by Staff on
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Whit
I am with you.
We must say no to Fed
. Money. Period.
The City was hoping that this news would not come out until after the budget was finalized.
In any case, even the city’s application for the grant wasn’t mentioned by city hall officials in their discussions with citizens about a tax increase. The mere fact that it wasn’t mentioned just reinforces the reputation this city hall has for secrecy, obfuscation, and financial shell games.
The article at WCTV states:
“The (police) department was notified late Monday night that it will receive a total of $1,875,000 in grant money from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.”
The question not made clear in the article:
1: Did any City Hall officials know that Tallahassee would receive this grant money months or weeks before the “late Monday night” notification to TPD, or was “late Monday night” the first time anyone in city government knew Tallahassee was a recipient?
The concept of the federal government taking local tax dollars from one community and giving it to another community is emblematic of how constitutional principles have been completely eroded.
Tax dollars are extracted from communities where adequate law enforcement funding and lower crime rates are maintained and given to communities where law enforcement is underfunded and crime rates are high. Inefficiency is rewarded.
Why is the federal government involved in funding local policing in Tallahassee, FL for anyway? Does Loretta Lynch in Washington DC know if we are spending our money in Tallahassee prudently?
The budget problems we observe at a local level are a microcosm of what is occurring at the state and federal levels. Individuals, imbued with the power of elected office, once elected feel so righteous about funding the personal causes they support, whether it’s the arts or stray pets or turtle tunnels or intern fellows, that is becomes okay to reach into our wallets to fund those pet projects for which they wouldn’t spend a dime of their own personal money. And suddenly we are out of money to pay for the core responsibilities of government.
Shaw said that a government with the policy to rob Peter to pay Paul can be assured of the support of Paul.
If $1,875,000 takes care of 15 officers for three years then why not cancel the unwanted sidewalks on Live Oak Plantation and pick up another $3,000,000 to take a few more years.
Great idea!
Good for WCTY to uncover this fact.
There are two questions I would like to get answers to:
1. Did the City Commissioners know about this grant?
2. When did they learn of it?
The City Manager should resign or be forced out by the City Commission or all of them lose their credibility.
Once credibility is lost, legitimacy to govern is lost. I think we are at that point. Preston Scott, turn up the heat.
This tax increase started with the Chief of Police holding a press conference that we needed a tax increase for Public Safety to add policeman to the force to get more police in the field which we found out was untrue.
Then Commissioner Miller tells us we are one of the lowest taxed cities in the state which is untrue.
Then the City spreads the rumor that Parks and Recreation, Senior Center, and Tennis Center are going to be drastically cut and flood the City Commission Meeting with people to drown out Citizens who oppose their tax increase. This is unbelievable.
We have meet the enemy, and it is the people who are running City Hall.
Federal money always comes with strings attached. We’ll soon find out how the Feds want the puppet to dance.
Gov. Scott wants to increase dollars per pupil in education; his advisor’s say to increase property taxes to do so…how will that work with Tallahassee proposing a 13% property tax increase as well?
Ouch! Did not know that…bad news. They need to repeal the class size amendment to find more funding. Virtually no studies have ever showed it works (and the one that does says “maybe up to 3rd grade”). We have throw out roughly $30 billion or so on that ridiculous union ploy.
It’s one time money. We’ll be on the hook after three years and it’s not just salary for which we will be liable but pensions, Worker’s Compensation costs, general liability costs, payroll costs,…
But, Franklin…it allows us time to fix the mess. It could be fairly argued it cannot be done, but the winds seem to be blowing in a new direction with the involvement of business men and women who have taken Tallahassee Reports’ reporting and leveraged it into a mini-movement. What I think is telling is that this never came up during the budget discussions and this grant had to be applied for, yet it was not mentioned.
Very true. However. The commissioners have admitted that the budget process is severely flawed.
Like Preston said, this gives time to correct this process and not overburden the taxpayers.