A Public Safety Cut or a Freeze?
Although Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson said he would not cut funds from public safety, I am told that the Indianapolis Fire Department is having close to $800,000 taken away from it for now. The debate is whether the 800 grand that’s off the table is being cut or frozen. The city has already depleted its budget for firefighter overtime pay, so something like this doesn’t come as a total shock.
But from what I’ve been able to gather so far, nearly $250,000 is coming from the department’s shop budget, $80,000 is coming from Emergency Management and Special Ops, and also arson. Cuts or freezes in arson are surprising considering the rash of arsons that this town has had lately. A spokesperson for the Mayor told me she had no idea what I was talking about, so I’m using other channels to get to the bottom of this. When I know more, you will too.
