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Citizens’ Arrest
In a stormy public meeting Monday, about 100 Southport residents wanted to find out if their police department was going to be changed or even eliminated.
“You’re an idiot!” an older man yelled at the mayor.
“Liar!” a woman shouted.
Mayor Rob Thoman kept his cool throughout the two-hour open meeting, and assured the crowd that he was not trying to eliminate the police department or reduce their pay.
“My plan is to increase the number of reserve officers and staff,” he said.
About half of the crowd either seemed angry or hostile towards the mayor, a dentist by profession, and 18 months on the job as the city’s top elected leader.
Whether the mistrust by some residents of the mayor wanting to reorganize the police department may carry over to the 7 p.m. July 20 council meeting remains to be seen.
The main focus Monday evening centered on paid police officers being replaced by reserve officers to save the city money. Reserves are not paid, but are issued “a uniform, gun and bullets,” according to the mayor.
The city has five paid officers and 10 reserve officers. None work full time. In fact, no city employee works full time.
All reserve officers are trained at the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy and trained in how to use firearms, Thoman said.
“I’d like to offer the chief (Duane Burgess) a full-time position. He is a hard worker,” he added. The chief didn’t attend the meeting.
Burgess has been Southport chief for about eight years.
Thoman said the city of 1,800 residents is experiencing a severe reduction in revenues to fund city services because of the past year’s downturn in the state economy. Many local residents have lost jobs and have seen a drop in the value of their homes.
In addition, Southport residents have just received their 2007 Marion County property tax statements a year-and-a-half late because reassessments were done over.
The postponement of state, county and city revenues has put the city — along with most other tax-supported bodies, such as school districts — in dire financial straits. Many have had to borrow to keep functioning.
But not Southport.
The city has been making changes to lower costs and stay afloat.
“People ask me where the money (savings) is going,” Thoman said. “It’s being spent to keep us operating. It’s not been lost, stolen or over-spent.”
Prior to the meeting, a yellow flyer had been circulated throughout the city, charging that the mayor was going to eliminate the police department.
The flyer was not signed.
City council president Rose Harrison said she thought many of the charges were true and accurate. She added that she didn’t know what to expect at the July 20 council meeting.
In the flyer, the mayor was criticized for paying a large amount toward legal fees. At the meeting, the mayor said the amount was $24,000. But councilwoman Harrison said it actually is $35,000.
The mayor asked the crowd if they were willing to pay for 24/7 police coverage, saying, “It’s going to cost money.”
The crowd response, except for a few, wasn’t that strong, perhaps because the actual cost at this time is unknown.
The city of Southport is bounded by Madison Avenue on the west, McFarland Road on the east, Stop 11 on the north, and Buck Creek on the south.
“When I ran for mayor, I campaigned for change and economic revitalization here,” the mayor said. “I grew up here and work here, and plan to retire here. I want to restore the vitality of this community.”
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