HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution 1414`-_~~-
A Resolu~on
n~oltr.2tox rta. ~• ~
SUPPORTING PASSAGE OF SENATE BILL 1694
WHICH PERMITS LOCAL CONSIDERATION
OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A CRIME CONTROL DISTRICT AND TAX
WHEREAS, the Tarrant County Commissioners and the Fort Worth
City Council are desirous of addressing the crisis of over-
crowding in the Tarrant County jails; and
WHEREAS, the Fort Worth City Council wishes to provide the
citizens of Fort Worth with a thorough and aggressive
criminal justice program; and
WHEREAS, Senator Hugh Parmer has introduced Senate Bill 1694,
which allows for local consideration of up to a one-half per-
cent sales tax to fund criminal justice programs; and
WHEREAS, Senator Parmer has indicated a willingness to amend
SB 1694 to reflect the consensus of desires of the Tarrant
County Commissioners Court, the Fort Worth City Council, the
Arlington City Council, and other municipalities in the
county; and
WHEREAS, the desiFed focus of the legislative effort, and
suggested amendments to SB 1694 to reflect these desires, are
to be presented by the City's representative in a meeting of
the Senate Intergovernmental Relations Committee at 9:30 a.m.
Thursday, May 4, 1989.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL• OF
THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS:
Section 1. That the City Council applaud the efforts of
-__ Senator Hugh Parmer in addressing the criminal
justice problems in Tarrant County.
Section 2. That the Council considers the following items
critical to its support of SB 1694:
(1) Any program must have voter approval
prior to the initiation of the tax;
CITY OP FOBT N08TH
_~
(2) There must be a clause calling for the
automatic elimination of any such tax
within five to seven years;
(3) Tax revenues must be dedicated solely
for criminal justice purposes;
(A) There must be a funding idistribution
formula which entitles the county and
cities to certain amounts of the tax
revenues; with local governments given
the autonomy to direct the expenditure
of the funds to locally identified
programs;
(5) Programs to be funded with the tax rev-
enues must contain elements of prevention
and diversion as well as incarceration
and enforcement programs;
(6) A substantial amount of the revenues must
be directed to problems of county-wide
magnitude -- with a distribution as fol-
lows: 50 percent to the county; 50
„_' percent to municipalities, with distribu-
tion among the municipalities based upon
a formula including the proportionate
percentage of index crime, population,
and sales tax generation.
(7) No establishment of an additional
bureaucracy, and an absolute minimum of
overhead for the District.
ADOPTED this day ofC~~/ U 1989.
l APPROVED 9Y
CITY COIfNCfI
~~M~~AxxY 2 1989
1CWlCS~Is,Qtdt„,
ciy seoieeaiq of W~
Ctry of Fon Wont, Sexa~
- cn'i yr rv>as wvRrn