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Opinion - Community Voices

Friday, Nov. 06, 2009

Now is time for public safety tax

Despite bad economy, we need to do something about crime

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Quality of life starts with personal security. Health care, schools, parks, roads, our air and water are all important quality-of-life issues. But they pale in significance if we do not have the ability to feel safe in our homes or going to work, school or the market.

The survey recently completed by the CommonWealth group showed that more than 50 percent of our citizens are very concerned about crime and gangs. Even without our current budget crisis, Modesto has not been able to adequately staff our police. There is no reasonable way to put enough police on the streets with the current revenues coming to Modesto.

Over the last six years, the council has struggled to place more police officers on the streets. Yet it's been two steps forward and one back. Our current economic crisis has taken us back to 2002 staffing levels. Additionally dozens of our Fire Department positions have been eliminated due to the budget cuts.

Auto theft, drugs, gangs, graffiti and burglary alternate as the "crisis" of the moment. Violent crime trumps them all. There is no significant improvement possible without more officers on the street.

I would like to see community policing: officers walking beats in the areas most heavily affected by crime. We can't do that today. At any one time it is not unusual for Modesto to have just 15 officers, in 15 cars, to patrol our entire city. Walking the streets is impossible if we only have 15 officers per shift available. And our officers often have a dozen calls for service waiting for them.

For years there have been rumors about the city placing a sales tax proposal on the ballot to increase funding for a variety of uses, including added police.

It's time to take that step. I call for the City Council to place a public safety sales tax proposal before the voters.

Now is the time to put more police on our streets. Now is the time to drive gangs out of our neighborhoods. Now is the time to restore our firefighters. Modesto: Now is the time.

I propose a half-cent sales tax for public safety on the next general election ballot. It should include a provision that we maintain our current ratio of police and fire staff from the general fund. It should include a reasonably short sunset provision — 10 years, for example. It should include funds specifically for fighting gang and gang activity. And finally, there should be an independent citizens' oversight review committee to recommend and ensure the funds are spent as proposed and to report regularly to the public on its use.

Some will say that now is not the time for a public safety enhancement tax. They will argue that we need to wait until the economic recovery is more visible in our city and in our local government revenues.

I disagree.

Personal security is the first obligation of government to its citizens. There is no quality of life measurement that is more important.

This level of added revenues will allow us at least 60 more uniformed police officers and to re-staff our fire houses. The requirement that we maintain staffing ratios from general funds eliminates the ability to divert funds from the current public safety uses to other purposes. The sunset requirement gives the voters a chance to renew if they feel they have been properly served by this funding system.

Most major crime is an outgrowth of gang and gang activity. Fighting gangs brings improvements in the quality of life at all levels of our society.

Modesto is a good city in which to live. Let's make it a great city. The time to act is now.

Marsh is a Modesto City Council member.