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Last updated on Tuesday, July 9, 2013
(INDIANAPOLIS) - The Indianapolis City-County Council failed Monday to override Mayor Ballard’s veto which prevented the hiring of new IMPD officers.
Last month, the mayor vetoed the proposal which would have moved six million dollars from the Rebuild Indy fund to recruit, hire and train new officers.
The council needed 20 votes to override the veto, but the override attempt failed by a vote of 16-9. Four councilors were absent from Monday's council meeting. A few republicans voted in favor of overriding the veto.
Councillor Aaron Freeman agreed with many other councilors who said while they supported the plan introduced Monday by Ballard and Department of Public Safety Director Troy Riggs to move more IMPD officers to the streets, he wanted to supplement that plan by hiring new officers.
The proposal's sponsor, Democrat Vernon Brown, cited the rising number of homicides in the city and noted how all of the council's districts were represented in those numbers. He said while Riggs' plan did include recruiting new officers, it wouldn't be enough to offset the number of officers the city would lose through attrition.
Councillor Zach Adamson said it would take ten years of hiring 100 officers each year to meet the minimum national standard in Indianapolis which is why he voted to override the veto.
Republican Councillor Jeff Miller did not vote to override the veto, but said if Riggs' plan doesn't work, he would consider reintroducing the proposal.
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