Follow the money
“It appears that the city took money out of our budget when they added the income tax increase, so that we’re no bigger than we were before. ”
– Ft. Wayne PBA President Sofia Rosales-Scatena
Important to know where those extra tax dollars go.
When City Council in Fort Wayne, Indiana raised the local income tax by 0.35 percent last year, officials said it would provide an additional $4.7 million per year for public safety needs. And that appears to be true, technically.
But police and fire union leaders say the administration of Mayor Tom Henry has used the windfall to transfer property tax funds from their budgets for other uses – potentially undermining their departments’ ability to protect and serve.
It’s an assertion supported by a state representative who has filed legislation intended to prevent a similar budgetary “switcheroo” in the future.
With negotiations on new police and fire contracts well underway, it’s hardly unusual for union leaders to seek more money for their members, and both the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association (which about 360 rank-and-file officers) and Fort Wayne Firefighters Local 124 are doing just that. The city is offering most of its employees raises of about 2 percent, but the PBA is seeking a raise of 2 percent in the first year and 4 percent in the second and third years. In addition to the 2 percent, firefighters want staffing increased from 95 per day to 99.
“It appears that the city took money out of our budget when they added the income tax increase, so that we’re no bigger than we were before,” said PBA President Sofia Rosales-Scatena, who noted that the police was reduced by about $3.47 million this year and replaced with the Local Option Income Tax (LOIT).
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