Ballard Hedging On Number Of New Police Hires

Mayor Greg Ballard is hedging on the number of new police officers that IMPD will hire next year. During an interview with WIBC's Greg Garrison this morning, Ballard said that he planned to hire between 30 and 50 additional police officers next year. You may recall that his 2010 budget included 5o new police officers funded with federal grant money. His predecessor enacted a 65%, $90 million a year income tax increase, in part, to fund 100 additional police officers that he promised earlier in his administration. It's the old bait-and-switch game. Use crime-fighting as an excuse for more taxing and spending and then shift the funds elsewhere. If Ballard isn't using the federal grant money to fully fund 50 new police officer positions, then where will the money be spent? I would add that using federal grant money to fund permanent police officer positions was never a good idea. Where do you find the money to pay for those positions once the grant money dries up?