Proposal could impact county's crime funding
By Gergana Bobeva CAPITAL NEWS SERVICE

Lower violent crime rates could mean the Chesterfield Police Department will receive a smaller increase in state funding under a plan proposed by Gov. Timothy Kaine.

The plan, which is part of the governor's budget bill, would change the way funding for public safety is distributed among localities in Virginia. All counties and cities would receive more than they did in the previous year, but areas with the highest crime rates would receive extra funding. Counties such as Chesterfield and Henrico would receive a smaller increase in their funding based on the comparatively low crime rates in those areas.

"The facts are that no one loses money," said Delegate Franklin Hall, who supports the governor's proposal. Hall, a Democrat, represents the 69th District that includes part of Chesterfield. "There's a hold harmless provision so that no one gets less money than they got before."

If passed, Kaine's plan would use a new formula to determine which localities will receive additional funding. One of the options, explained in a report to the General Assembly, is the so-called "60-40" program. It would allocate 60 percent of the additional funding following the current formula. The other 40 percent would go to the 20 jurisdictions with the highest violent crime rates.

"What the governor is trying to do is to recognize reality," Hall said.

Under the current "599" program, 95 percent of the available appropriation is allocated among qualifying jurisdictions by determining the "potential crime rate" for each city or county. The potential rate is calculated considering population densities, crime rates and welfare caseload rates.

The remaining five percent of the ap- propriation is used as additional funding for cities with populations of 200,000 or more. Benefiting cities are those whose original "599" funding per capita is less than 65 percent of the average per-capita aid in other large cities. Remaining funds are allocated among smaller eligible cities, counties and towns, based on their relative populations.

The original "599 program," named after House Bill 599, was accepted in 1979 and provided a way for federal funds to be distributed to different localities toward public safety issues. Intended beneficiaries were large cities with high crime rates.

Over the years, many people moved to suburban counties. Despite their low crime rates, those areas became the major beneficiaries of the original formula, based on population size.

The shifting allocation of the 599 funds, benefiting suburban counties, and the increasing violent crime rates in large cities imposed the need for change in the system, said Kaine.

"I commend the governor for stepping up to the plate and taking a significant step to fulfilling the commitment that the state made to center cities and to counties when the annexation moratorium was put in place," Hall said.

The 599 bill set two eligibility requirements for cities and counties applying for state police funding. The locality must have a police department with sworn officers meeting the state's minimum training requirements. Qualifying localities also had to give up their right to annex land or population.

Delegate Katherine Waddell, an Independent who represents the 68th District, which includes part of Chesterfield, noted that the governor's proposal is subject to change.

"I am anxiously waiting to see what the final result of the proposal will be," Waddell said, adding that at this point she is not certain of what the proposal will mean to Chesterfield or Richmond. "I don't want to make a definite decision about that until I know what impact it is going to have on my district."

Waddell preferred to consider metro Richmond as a region that's inclusive of Chesterfield and Richmond instead of separating the two areas and talking in terms of conflicting interests.

"We are all in this together, and I think we all need to work for the best for all of the area," Waddell said.

Funding at a glance

$206.3 million - FY 2007 $214.7 million - Proposed for FY 2008

Under the 60/40 plan, the increase from FY 2008 ($8.3 million) would be divided into 60 percent ($5 million) and 40 percent ($3.3 million). The 60 percent would be distributed with the existing formula, which would increase the funding for each qualifying county by the same proportion as before. The remaining 40 percent would be allocated among the 20 localities with the highest crime rates in the state.