By Ann Marie Shambaugh
The Zionsville police and fire chiefs explained to the town council Sept. 6 why they support a proposed county-wide local income tax (LIT) – both departments are chronically understaffed.
ZFD Chief James VanGorder said his department has seen a 23 percent increase in calls in the past three years. He said ZFD did not add any positions when it opened Station 93 in 2012 and has not added many since, leaving each fire truck staffed with three firefighters as opposed to the ideal of four.
“Today, we are at minimum staffing as our norm,” he said. “We are three firefighter positions short at every one of our stations.”
ZPD Chief Robert Knox cited a Bureau of Justice Statistics report that shows nationally there is an average of 2.5 police officers for every 1,000 residents. Zionsville has 29 full-time sworn officers, but to meet that rate it needs 37.5.
Calls for police service increased more than 50 percent between 2010 and 2015, he said, and with several new neighborhood and business expansions or relocations planned, he expects calls to continue to grow.
If the tax is approved, ZPD plans to hire three patrol officers in 2017, two patrol officers and an administrative assistant in 2018 and two patrol officers in 2019. VanGorder presented a three-step plan that includes hiring 15 new employees and the creation of a battalion chief position.
Boone County Sheriff Mike Nielsen is leading the charge to adopt a LIT, which must be approved by elected governing bodies representing more than half of the county’s population to go into effect. The rate is expected to be set at .5 percent. The Boone County Council is expected to vote on a resolution outlining the LIT at its Sept. 13 meeting. If approved, only the Zionsville or Lebanon town council would need to also vote in support for the tax to go into effect Jan. 1.
A vote is scheduled for 7 p.m. Oct. 11 at Lebanon High School for other county entities to vote on the proposal.
State law allows a local income tax to be used for public safety, economic development, certified shares or property tax relief, but Nielsen and other Boone County officials have said the new tax should only be used to fund public safety.
Learn more
The public is invited to learn more about the proposed LIT at informational meetings scheduled for 5:30 and 7 p.m. Oct. 5 at the Boone County 4-H Fairgrounds, 1300 100 S., Lebanon.
