3/3/2006
Media Contact:
Steve Campbell, [317] 327-3622 |
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House missed a chance to truly improve fire service, reduce red tape & save dollars, Peterson says
INDIANAPOLIS - Mayor Bart Peterson today urged leaders of the Indiana General Assembly to use the last few days of the legislative session to pass a law that allows Indianapolis to merge fire departments, and actually improve fire services and save taxpayer dollars.
The Mayor’s statements followed the House of Representative’s passage late Thursday of Senate Bill 1, which does not give local leaders enough tools to complete a fire merger, truly improve fire service across the county and save at least $20 million a year.
"I am extremely disappointed the House of Representatives missed this chance to strike a blow for good government," Mayor Peterson said. "Senate Bill 1 does just the opposite - it adds red tape, creates a new bureaucracy and passes on providing true savings for the taxpayers.
"There is still time left for all state lawmakers to do the right thing by our taxpayers and pass a bill that truly makes sense. I implore them to think about our taxpayers first, and I look forward to working with them in these last few days to do so."
About the GOP proposal. Senate Bill 1 purports to allow a fire department merger in Marion County, but in actuality, creates a department run by a 12-member committee for four years, with no direct accountability for operating the department and no guarantee of improving fire service and cost savings.
"Creating a new bureaucracy of elected officials is a layer of government we don’t need," the Mayor reiterated. "A well run organization can’t be run by committee."
On Wednesday, the House voted along party lines to kill an amendment designed to fix those defects. The House then voted along party lines late Thursday to pass SB 1, meaning that true savings and efficiencies would not be possible.
About the Mayor’s compromise. Peterson’s original Indianapolis Works plan called for merging the eight township fire departments into the Indianapolis Fire Department, eliminating all but two township trustees and boards for delivering poor relief; and merging nine tax assessors into the County Assessor.
However, the Mayor has since proposed a compromise which still merges the fire departments, but leaves the trustees and township tax assessors remain in place. He also has conceded on nearly every point House leaders wanted, except for those that bring about the efficiencies and cost savings.
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