Councilman D. Michael Collins said he was also surprised by the need for capital improvements money, which is typically used for projects such as street repairs. Mr. Collins said he would support the spending on the cameras, but is concerned the police department has more requests in the pipeline...."Any additional needs coming out of the [capital improvements fund] will require more than an anecdotal justification," Mr. Collins said.
Mr. Collins said he did his own research on the cameras and concluded they are worth the investment.However, he expressed misgivings over whether there will be enough police staff to watch all the footage.
Councilman D. Michael Collins said, while he would normally be hesitant to support the borrowing, the condition of city roads makes it necessary to act. By resurfacing some roads this year, the city will stop them from deteriorating further and save on more expensive repairs in the future, he said.
"We've no choice in this matter. We either do the debt service ... or five years from now we may be in no position to do anything but reconstruct [the roads entirely]," he said. "I think the administration deserves a great deal of credit for being visionary and realizing that we need to move on this."
Mr. Collins, chairman of council's public safety, law, and criminal justice committee, said The Blade review of judges' attendance supports his position that "there was a cavalier approach to handling the treasury of the city of Toledo."
The city of Toledo released a crushing report on its Department of Neighborhoods Wednesday that supports allegations of widespread mismanagement, bid-rigging, misuse of funds, and possible criminal wrongdoing within the division but stops short of a full indictment.
The planned expansion to the police department's ranks was made possible after the Toledo Municipal Court agreed to give up $350,000 from its own budget. Municipal Court Judge Michael Goulding and Councilman D. Michael Collins announced the agreement at a hearing earlier in the day. Mr. Collins praised Judge Goulding for the gesture, which freezes the court's budget at 2011 levels.
The city made the deal with S&L on the condition that the company produce at least $200,000 worth of top soil annually. But Collins and Council members Lindsay Webb and Rob Ludeman smell trouble. "I will not give up my pursuit until I can honestly say that the practice is safe," Collins said."This is not dirt," Collins said. "This is human excrement that has been put through processes but still contains the presence of E. coli."
At a budget hearing Monday, Councilman D. Michael Collins said bold plans won't work if the department doesn't have enough personnel, and urged department officials to reconsider where money will go from the proposed 2012 budget - which includes technological advancements. He pushed instead, for authorities to free up funds to fill vacant positions."With the violence in this city, you can't operate with these numbers," the councilman told Chief Diggs....The department, Mr. Collins said, is already operating with the lowest per capita police force in the state.
