REPORT CARD - December 2019 0.2% INCOME TAX FUNDS - POLICE

At the Polls on November 8, 2016 Brewster Voters approved a 0.5% Municipal Income Tax measure which will provide additional revenues for the operation of the Village Police Department and for the maintenance of Village roadways over the next five years. The final tally provided by the Stark County Board of Elections was 552 - For and 465 - Against.

Thank you Brewster Voters !

Now, Brewster Council and those that administrate Village operations, the Mayor and the Village Administrator, must show the Voters that approving this additional revenue source was a wise decision. Estimates show that an additional $ 400,000 will be gained annually from this new Income Tax, and using that figure and the language in the Ballot issue, approximately $ 160,000 will be directed toward Police operations, and $ 240,000 toward Street maintenance.

At this juncture we wish to offer the following as a December 2019 Report Card for the use of those Income Tax dollars:

REPORT CARD – NOVEMBER 2019: BX POLICE DEPARTMENT 0.2% INCOME TAX

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In 2016 the Village voters approved an increase in the 1.0% Village Income Tax of 0.2% with those new tax revenues to be used solely for supplementing the operations of the Village Police Department. When explaining the Ballot Issue, Village Council advised that the additional funding would be used to support the Village’s School Resource Officer (SRO #1) in Fairless Schools, to provide additional training for Village Police Officers to better serve and protect Village residents, to better equip Village Police Officers with the purchase of equipment such as body cameras, and to better address the National drug issue that touches every community.

This Municipal Income Tax is for Five Years and began on January 1, 2017 and will continue until December 31, 2021. For the most recent full year of 2018 this 0.2% income tax generated $ 174,144 and saw expenditures of $ 94,469.98. The resulting 2018 carryover of PD Income Tax funds into 2019 was $ 145,741.48 which provided a very reasonable start for 2019 operations

For thus far in 2019 I would report the following:

2019 FINANCES – To Date

Revenue 12/01/2019	Expenses 12/01/19	12/01/2019 Available Balance
$ 203,820.41	$ 137,459.29	$ 204,672.95

The Expenditures from the PD Income Tax Fund:

EXPENSES 12/01/2019

Wages – SROs	$ 68,226.38
Benefits – SROs	$ 18,611.89
Contractual Services	$ 0.00
Operation & Maintenance	$ 7,023.22
Uniforms – SROs	$ 00.00
Training – SROs	$ 1,243.16
Capital Outlay	$ 42,354.64
Total	$ 137,459.29

Through a cooperative effort by the Fairless Board of Education and Brewster Village Council an agreement was executed in 2018 under which the Brewster PD would hire a sixth Full Time Police Officer to be stationed as an SRO in the Fairless Elementary and Middle Schools during the 2018-2019 School year. In 2019, for the 2019-2020 School Year, the partnership between Fairless Schools and the Village to provide the additional School Resource Officer was continued. Under the agreement with Fairless, Brewster continues to fund the SRO #1 fully, and Fairless agrees to cover 70% of the overall cost of the second SRO and the Brewster funds the remaining 30%. The Village’s 30% covers the costs for SRO #2 for non-school days when the Officer is utilized in the Village. Also, in 2019 expenditures for the both SROs included additional Training to keep each Officer at a 2019-2020 SRO training level.

In addition, 2019 Expenditures from the PD Income Tax Fund allowed the PD to provide the replacement of the PD computers as well as the compatible server, undertake a minimum of 32 hours of training for all Officers, to expend $ 16,908 for the purchase of MARCs radios for the PD in cooperation with Stark County, purchase a Seventh Street E. speed sign to monitor traffic, fund the purchase and installation of equipment and decals for the new 2020 Tahoe Cruiser, to purchase a new handheld radar gun, and so forth .

The availability of these income tax funds also has an impact on allowing the PD to use their normal General Fund moneys to add equipment and update facilities. Equipment purchases included providing eight Officers with Glock 17s to complete providing all Officers with a standard weapon throughout the Department. These weapons issued are Village property and will be returned to the Brewster PD, if an Officer should leave. These efforts make all Officers’ weapons compatible and should reduce the overall cost of ammunition. A contract with Virtual Academy which offers extensive on-line training for all Police Officers and proved to be an excellent and timely training venue was continued in 2019. The Chief launched this training program in 2018 to provide vital training to all Officers that is as near as a PD computer.

The Village’s ability to provide SRO#1 to Fairless Schools, to contribute to the second SRO, to provide needed training, and to make needed upgrades in the PD is directly linked to the additional funds from the 0.2% municipal income tax.

Under the leadership of Chief Creter, we believe we are making the best effort to spend the new 0.2% income taxes dollars wisely and efficiently.