News Stories:
Police union wants tax issue before voters
By Thomas Geyer | Wednesday, August 29, 2007
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For six hours, members of Davenport’s Union of Professional Police spent Tuesday sweating and talking to people about the need for more officers on the street.
Working outside of Whitey’s Ice Cream on West Locust Street, the officers answered questions and asked people to sign their petition to put before voters a measure that would use 10 percent of the local option sales tax to pay for additional manpower and equipment.
“It’s going in waves” said Police Cpl. Eric Gruenhagen. “We’ve had a very good, very receptive stream of people.
“They’re all asking to sign and they’ve come here for the sole purpose of signing,”
he added.
The union also was giving people a free scoop of Whitey’s Ice Cream, not just for signing, but asking questions.
But there is a question on just when the police can get their resolution to the voters.
They were hoping to put the referendum on the
November ballot.
However, Scott County Auditor Karen Fitzsimmons said that according to the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office, since the police are submitting a petition, it would have to be for a countywide election.
Fitzsimmons said she has been following the issue and has talked to the Secretary of State’s Office about how and when it can be placed on the ballot.
“Because the city council did not approve it, and because it is a petition drive, the election would need to be countywide,” she said, adding that is what was told to her by the Secretary of State’s Office.
“In 1988, each city in the county had an option to decide what they wanted to do with the tax,” she said. “Each city had to determine the wording on how they would spend the money in their communities.”
The election, she said, would be held within 120 days of when the police union filed the paperwork and signatures with the Scott County Board of Supervisors.
Fitzsimmons strongly recommends all the interested parties to contact the Secretary of State’s Office for clarification on the issue and to present their side of any arguments that may arise.
Union spokesman Jim Meyrer said the union was told by the Scott County Auditor’s Office that they would need about 2,800 signatures, or 5 percent of the total number of voters who participated in the last countywide election. If so, then it’s a done deal.
“I’m pretty sure we’ve got it,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean people should stop signing.”
Scott County Administrator Ray Wierson echoed the number of signatures needed.
“What this will do is force all jurisdictions to vote on the use of the sales tax,” he said. “Many areas may not be changing their use. Some areas may change the wording for their tax use from something like ‘property tax relief’ or ‘capital improvements’ to something like ‘any lawful purpose.’”
The Union of Professional Police is petitioning to have an election so that Davenport voters can approve a measure that would use 10 percent of the local option sales tax for the hiring of police officers.
Currently, 60 percent of the sales tax goes to property tax relief while 40 percent goes to capital improvements. The police union would like the tax split three ways: 60 percent for property tax relief, 30 percent for capital improvements, and 10 percent going to more officers.
Alderman Barney Barnhill, 7th Ward, who voted against the measure during a city council meeting July 18, signed the petition and said he would vote for the measure when there is an election on the issue.
“I couldn’t support it as an alderman, because since we voted in the local option sales tax in 1988 none of it has ever gone to salaries,” he said. “I believe that money for personnel should be put into the city budget. But I believe in the democratic process and the right to petition. I know the guys are understaffed. If it passes, it passes.”
Kristie Richardson, who stopped to sign the petition, said she supports the police.
“You need good police protection otherwise why build the projects,” she said. “Why build something you can’t protect?”
Julie Clawson, who is running for an at-large aldermanic seat in the next city election, said she did research that indicated that many cities of comparable size to Davenport are able to have more officers.
“They are using a lot more manpower,” she said. “They even have foot patrols and community policing, which I am all for.”
Police Cpl. Jason Willey said that more first responders are needed on the street.
“Right now we’re a reactive force,” he said. “With more officers on the street we can be proactive.”
Thomas Geyer can be contacted at (563) 383-2328 or tgeyer@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.
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Thanks to volunteers
By Ald. Barney Barnhill, Davenport | Sunday, August 27, 2006
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I would like to thank all those who volunteered at last Saturday’s Xstream Cleanup and took time out of their busy schedules to help make Duck Creek a cleaner body of water. A special thank you goes to Tom Jensen for finding a record number of five bikes and two backpacks during the cleanup.
Ald. Barney Barnhill
Davenport
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Barnhill is dedicated to public service
By Sandra Barnhill, Davenport | Wednesday, November 30, 2005
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As Ald. Barnhill’s wife, I would like to let the citizens of the 7th ward know how proud I am of Barney for winning re-election to the Davenport City Council.
Barney is a dedicated public servant who has a sincere passion to make our city a better place to live and a desire to make this a safer, more vibrant community.
I am particularly proud that Barney took the “high road” and ran a clean campaign. He didn’t resort to distorting the facts, misrepresenting the truth or providing the citizens of the 7th ward with inaccuracies. Honesty, perseverance and hard work does pay off.
Thank you, 7th ward!
Sandra Barnhill
Davenport
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Barnhill is a needed consensus builder
By Tom Hoeksema, Davenport | Friday, November 04, 2005
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I encourage you to vote for 7th Ward Alderman Barney Barnhill on Nov. 8.
Throughout his teaching and coaching career, Barney has exhibited leadership and dependability, which has carried over into his career as an elected public servant. Barney has never missed a voting meeting and carries the best attendance record on the city council. He has many innovative ideas and makes sensible decisions based on the law rather than on popularity or outside pressure. Barney demonstrates patience and civility with those who appear before the city council and always respects their individual concerns. He is a behind-the-scenes consensus builder who has the respect of his fellow legislators and refuses to grandstand to legislative approval.
Support experience, trust, honesty and reliability. Vote Barney Barnhill
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Barnhill works tirelessly for 5th ward
By Mary Solis, Davenport | Thursday, November 03, 2005
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I am writing this note to inform the people of the 7th ward that Barney Barnhill works tirelessly for all of us.
A couple of years ago, my family was told by our former alderman that a weight limit for semi trucks on West Central Park was unrealistic and would never happen. We were told by that alderman that all the petitions in the world would not do any good and that this was a waste of our time and his.
Since then, Mr. Barnhill became our alderman and took on this task and has personally worked very hard to get the weight limit on West Central Park to keep semi trucks off of this street for the safety of children, joggers and the general public. And he did get the job done.
Rest assured, he’s available and always ready to listen to any suggestions or problems you might have. Please re-elect Mr. Barnhill, he is very worthy of your vote.
Mary Solis
Davenport
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Barnhill, Gibbs say cut Davenport’s middle management, add more cops
By Tom Saul | Wednesday, November 02, 2005
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There is hardly a candidate running for Davenport alderman in the Nov. 8 elections who has not said there should be more police officers on city streets to fight a growing crime problem.
But when it comes to figuring out how to pay for more cops, as candidates were asked during forums sponsored last week by the city’s police and firefighter unions, the responses got more vague. Many referred to a “reprioritizing” of spending to cover the cost of more officers.
But at least two candidates, former Mayor Pat Gibbs, who is running in the 1st Ward, and Barney Barnhill, who is running to keep his 7th Ward seat, say the layer of middle management that they believe exists in city government offers a rich target for cuts to come up with money for more cops.
“When it is budget time, we need to be forceful and scrutinize all 13 city departments and ask each of the department heads to give us two middle managers,” Barnhill said. “If we do that for the next four or five years, we can probably get enough to put 20 new officers on the streets.”
While he was mayor from 1992 to 1998, Gibbs said he slashed middle management to save money. In the intervening years, much of it has been added back and new positions have been created, he said. In the meantime, public safety has suffered, he added.
Back then, he said, there were two inspectors who handled rental housing and environmental matters. Now, there are 10, he said. And today there are only eight patrol officers on duty per shift, he added.
“Do you mean to tell me that it is more important to have (rental) housing inspectors than it is to have police on the streets?” he said.
But some city officials say that if candidates expect to find huge savings by eliminating middle managers, they will be sorely disappointed. In the past four fiscal years, those who some would consider middle managers have been systematically eliminated as the city has struggled with increasingly difficult budget issues.
Now, Assistant Finance Director Alan Guard said, there are only 64 middle managers in a city workforce of about 840 full-time employees. Among the middle managers cut over the years were three fire department commanders and a police lieutenant.
“Most of those left are working managers,” Guard said. “What is there left to offer up?”
Davenport has what City Administrator Craig Malin called a “flat” organizational structure, meaning there are very few intermediate supervisors between the lowest-ranking employees and the top managers. Further cuts among what he said should really be called front-line managers, those directly involved in the delivery of city services, will only hurt the city’s ability to effectively provide services to its citizens.
“We have cut over 60 positions in the past four years, and most of that has been skewed towards middle management and skewed away from direct service delivery and skewed even more away from public safety,” he said.
In a note to aldermen last week, he referred to the “mythical middle management glut” and also said that city operating expenses for public safety over the past four budget years have increased from $26.6 million in fiscal year 2002 to $32.1 million in fiscal year 2006.
Guard said in a memo to Malin that the majority of the shift in funding to police and fire is due to the elimination of 57 non-public safety jobs in the past four years, compared with only six from public safety, and the addition of home garbage collection and stormwater fees that allow more property tax money to be spent on police and fire services.
“The third factor driving this change has been an increase of 20 percent in health insurance rates and an increase from 17 percent to 28.31 percent of salary for the pension rate for public safety employees,” Guard wrote.
In the four-year period, he continued, there has been a net gain of two police officers and a net loss of three firefighters.
Gibbs said most of the city’s increased spending on public safety over the period amounts to cost-of-living hikes and things its police and firefighter unions have negotiated for. If elected, Gibbs said his job will be to try to get the employment levels of the police and fire departments up to where they should be.
“Eight officers on the street at any one time, one officer per beat, that isn’t adequate,” he added.
Tom Saul can be contacted at (563) 383-2453 or tsaul@qctimes.com.