Columbus Will Not Replace Retiring Police

10 TV: In the next two years, 200 Columbus police officers face retirement. Without funds to replace those officers, public safety will be jeopardized, a police union official said.

"It's going to be catastrophic," said Jim Gilbert, president of Capital City Lodge No. 9 of the Fraternal Order of Police. "What do you say to the crime victim? What do you say to the person who is waiting and waiting for police as a violent crime is happening in front of them?" Gilbert said.

Columbus Auditor Hugh Dorian has told City Council an income tax is the best solution to raise money. So far Mayor Michael Coleman has not taken a position on the issue and neither has City Council.

Should the council decide to put an income tax on the November ballot and it fails, the auditor warns the city would not just lose police officers. Two hundred retiring firefighters also would not be replaced. "We would have to cut our services," said Jack Reall, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 67.

Fewer firefighters would be available to work on arson investigations and fire inspections, and fewer paramedics would be available to respond to emergencies. Reall said it all comes down to what voters are willing to pay for. "You either want to keep your services where they are at and pay more (in taxes), or decide what you don't want in terms of the menu of services that government provides," Reall said.