NEWS

Council candidates debate corrections County at-large, state Senate District 40 rivals square off at first League of Women Voters forum By Kurt Van der Dussen, Herald-Times Staff Writer October 6, 2004 Two of the toughest problems facing the next Monroe County Council are what to do about jail crowding and how to pay for the operation of a new county juvenile facility or adult community corrections center. The six candidates for the three council at-large spots on the Nov. 2 ballot had some differences of opinion on those questions Tuesday night in a League of Women Voters-Chamber of Commerce debate. And Indiana Senate District 40 candidates Vi Simpson and R. Dale Cassiday clashed about whether "less government is good government," as GOP candidate Cassiday had asserted. Republican county council candidates Andy Dodds, Leasa Farkas and Randy May and Democratic council candidates Warren Henegar, Sophia Travis and Michael Woods were asked for their views on the current jail crowding problem and how to deal with it. Henegar maintained many jail inmates don't really need to be there, but that whatever size jail the county has, it will be filled. Farkas and May disputed Henegar's claim that many inmates could safely be out of jail. Farkas said the county's judges regularly review the jail population and let out those they can, but most need to be there and the community needs to be kept safe. May noted the county's judges say the inmates in the jail need to be there. But he added he'd like to see if the home detention program — which monitors inmates via electronic ankle bracelets — could be expanded to reduce the inmate count. Dodds noted that at any time, about 70 percent of the jail's inmates are pretrial detainees as opposed to convicted offenders. He said the judges' planned court reorganization could speed up cases and thus help reduce the overcrowding. Travis said the county needs more preventive programs and mental health services that have been shown elsewhere to reduce jail populations. Woods said the county needs to find the best balance among the four traditional purposes of incarceration — to rehabilitate, to punish, to deter crime and to keep the public safe — and act accordingly to keep it. The six candidates also were asked whether they'd support raising the county income tax from 1 to 1.25 percent to finance the operation of a juvenile center and community correction center and pay for more county jail officers, if the Indiana General Assembly would authorize the increase. May noted that the county's total budget already is $46 million, and he'd first want to see if there was any way to raise the money by cutting back other costs. As an example, he pointed to the budget slashing the county solid waste district has undergone and survived this year because of what he said was prior inefficiency and mismanagement. "It should absolutely be the last resort," Woods agreed, saying the council should look at every possible other source of funding for the facilities. He also noted that a major reason for a county juvenile center would be to cut costs from what the county spends at out-of-county facilities, and that if the county had to raise taxes to fund a local facility, that would defeat its purpose. Farkas said "I don't like the sound of raising taxes," and that she would want to hear the will of county residents on the issue. Travis noted the county already is at its maximum property tax levy and wasn't sure what the tax implications would be. But she said a juvenile center should be the county's highest priority because it would save money down the road. "This one's a toughie," Dodds said of the tax question, but maintained raising the county income tax would be "burdening the working people of Monroe County" who pay that tax. Henegar, a former county commissioner and council member who was known for speaking his mind, was the last to answer, and he practically roared it out. "Of course, I would seriously consider it," he declared, passionately asking "what kind of people are we?" if county residents aren't willing to pay higher taxes to care for kids. "We are undertaxed, and we have serious problems in this county," he asserted. "We've got to get more money, and I've got the guts to go get it." As for the state Senate candidates' faceoff, at its end, five-term Democratic senator Simpson said she just couldn't let Nashville Town Council member Cassiday's earlier "less government is good government" statement pass without comment. She rattled off a list of vital basic services provided by local and state government and asked whether having less of those services really would be better government. Cassiday had a ready rebuttal, noting that past all the "warm and fuzzy" talk about government programs is the fundamental issue of how to pay for them. "Money comes from individuals, and the government runs on money," he said. He noted that in recent years, the state has taken in less money than it budgets, and budgets less than it spends. "That's planned deficit spending," he said. Earlier, the two had agreed on one issue: health insurance costs. Both said one way to control them is to establish a statewide insurance pool for small businesses, which are being hammered by employee health insurance costs. When Cassiday proposed the idea, Simpson grinned, replying she intends to file a bill in the upcoming session to do just that. "One of us had better," Cassiday replied, unwilling to concede the inevitability of a sixth Simpson term. Upcoming forums The League of Women Voters Bloomington-Monroe County will sponsor the three more candidate forums: • 7 p.m. on Oct. 14 at the Monroe County Public Library auditorium. Candidates for auditor, judges and state representatives will appear. • 7 p.m. on Oct. 21 in Rooms 1B and 1C at the Monroe County Public Library. Candidates for surveyor and county commissioners will appear. • 7 p.m. on Oct. 27 at Phi Delta Kappa headquarters, 408 N. Union St. Candidates for the Monroe County Community School Corp. board will appear. Reporter Kurt Van der Dussen can be reached at 331-4372 or by e-mail at kvd@heraldt.com.