Toledo officials are warning that, unless residents approve a 0.25 percent local tax on their income this November, the Ohio city could be forced to cancel an upcoming police academy and leave openings on the force unfilled.
The problem is that the proposed tax hike won’t just help pay for police and fire department services. The city council has also included funding for “violence prevention” programs, without explaining what groups would be funded and what kind of accountability they’d face after receiving taxpayer dollars.
Toledo City Council member Erin Kramer said the additional funding would help maintain police staffing while expanding prevention programs for young people.
“We had to lessen the amount of cadets in our classes this year, and it’s definitely something that’s on the line for next year, even having a class at all,” Kramer said.
Kramer said the city must invest in helping young people make better decisions before conflicts turn violent.
“We need to encourage kids to take that pause, realize they have their whole life in front of them. They don’t want to ruin their life by making a rash decision and using a weapon to solve an argument,” she said.
That’s all fine and good, but how exactly will that money be spent? Council member Cerssandra McPherson was the sole vote against the proposed tax increase, and her opposition was centered on questions of accountability.
She said she submitted two questions to the mayor’s administration:
- What measurable public safety outcomes should residents expect?
- Will any of these funds be used to replace aging fire vehicles or equipment?
McPherson also said an additional tax on residents is unnecessary.
After the agenda wrapped up, both McPherson and council member Theresa Gadus had harsh criticism for Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz’s handling of the tax. Both said the mayor needs to explain further details about the ballot item and what it would do directly to the public so they can make well-informed decisions on it at the polls, with Gadus calling on the mayor to restart his “Wednesdays with Wade” public meetings to do so.
The mayor needs to offer a detailed breakdown of how much money would go towards “violence prevention” programs, what groups would receive those funds, and what metrics of success they would have to meet in order to receive additional funds.
There are some community violence prevention programs that do have a track record of success. Project Ceasefire, which typically offers a carrot-and-stick approach to those most at risk of violence, is one of them. The program’s been around in various forms since the 1990s, and pairs counseling, community services, and even job training and placement with prosecutions and no plea bargains for those who decide not to take advantage of the opportunity to turn their lives around.
Toledo has also spent money, however, on things like “Bowl Over Gun Violence,” a program started by a Moms Demand Action member in the city. As Everytown for Gun Safety boasted in 2024, the activist was able to get funds from the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Security and Engagement (MONSE) to pay for Lyft rides at no cost to “gun violence survivors” who wanted to bowl their way to safety. Everytown also claimed that the activists who put together the bowling event were working with Malcolm Cunningham, the Director of MONSE, who “is responsible for creating a five-year plan to reduce gun violence in Toledo.”
So, could this tax increase end up benefitting gun control groups like Moms Demand Action and Everytown? It’s a legitimate question, and unless the mayor can guarantee that no gun control groups will receive a penny of funds from the tax increase, the proposal should be voted down this November.
Editor’s Note: The radical Left will stop at nothing to enact their radical gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.
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