The Virginian-Pilot
©
RICHMOND
Virginia's state senators have enlisted scores of local sheriffs as emissaries to aid them in the budget process by asking House of Delegates negotiators to accept the Senate’s public safety funding approach.
The Senate budget increases several fees that citizens pay for government services, while the House has not.
Those fees, senators argue, would generate revenues to support law enforcement operations.
They include the use of profits from increased court fees for sheriffs and commonwealth's attorneys offices.
Other related Senate fees would raise telephone surcharges to fund a line of duty death and disability benefit program, and establish a fee on property and casualty insurance to pay some public safety costs.
"It's not enough to say you support law enforcement," Sen. Janet Howell, D-Fairfax, said at a Tuesday morning news conference attended by sheriffs. "You have too fund law enforcement."
Both the House and Senate budgets restore millions in cuts to sheriffs former Gov. Timothy M. Kaine included in his budget.
Some House officials Monday said they haven't heard an outcry from sheriff's over their funding plan.
"The sheriffs seem to be pretty pleased," Del. Kirk Cox, R-Colonial Heights, said Monday evening during a budget negotiation session.
One who isn't pleased with the House plan is Virginia Beach Sheriff Ken Stolle.
The former Republican state senator said his deputies face increased risks "if we have to sustain the cuts we're facing."
Legislators involved in crafting a budget must offset a $4.2 billion shortfall through reductions to various sectors of government.
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Twitter
Google
Yahoo
so much for bobby's "no tax pledge."
I guess bobby is not even trying to keep his "no tax increase" promise.
completely arbitrary fees
Pay more to use your phone each month, so that the survivors of deceased sheriffs' deputies will receive benefits?
Pay more to insure your house, and send the money to the Department of Public Safety operating budget?
How are these things related at all? Why not raise the tax - I mean, FEE - for registering your car at DMV, in order to subsidize school lunches? Or maybe put a toll booth on I-95 in order to pay salaries of game wardens?
The point is, the only pattern here is that law enforcement doesn't want to share the budget pain. Find extra money anywhere, they say, and use it to pay us. Well, fine: that's called the "general fund." And it's typically supplied via taxation. This is kind of Public Finance 101, here. Teachers and social workers can't wield this kind of naked political power. Why should the sheriffs?
Fees....
Fees are to Republicans what Taxes are to everyone else! Think I'm kidding???!!!
Fees, the new method of taxes
Like it or not, because voters do not want any kind of taxes, funding is non-existant. As a result, there is a new method of generating revenue. It's called 'fees'. Trash disposal? Taxes don't cover this so we'll charge a fee. You want a sheriff patrol in your area? This isn't funded but a fee will provide for this. Think I'm kidding, it has already begun.