AURORA | Crime is on the rise in Aurora and so, too, is the amount Aurora lawmakers want to spend to fight it.
The 2017 finalized budget for the general fund is $319.7 million, according to city documents, with nearly half of that going to the city’s police and fire departments.
At a regular Aurora City Council meeting Oct. 24, Ward II Councilwoman Renie Peterson was the sole vote against the budget on first reading. The budget bill passed 7-1 with Council members Bob Roth and Sally Mounier absent from the meeting. There was no discussion however about the vote during the meeting.
This year, Aurora City Council have approved 40 new hires for the city’s police and fire departments as part of a city council initiative to make Aurora a safer city.
After years of decline, Aurora, and most of the state, has seen an increase in all types of crime.
Through the end of June, major crime is up 14 percent compared to the same stretch in 2013, according to the department’s mid-year statistics. One of the biggest jumps was in robberies, which are up 41 percent so far in 2016 with 277 compared to 196 during the same stretch last year. Car thefts have also spiked, climbing 26 percent from 602 last year to 763 in 2016.
None of the seven major crimes the FBI tracks are down so far in 2016, but arrests, summonses and traffic tickets are all down compared to last year.
Arrests and summonses were also down in 2015 and police said that while it’s hard to attribute the dip to one single factor, police officials have said the department has stressed the importance of engaging the community, which means patrol officers are spending more time visiting with churches and community groups and also working closely with crime victims.
Other requests for public safety are also up. The proposed budget for the city’s fire department is $49 million, increasing $2 million from the city’s 2016 budget. Next year, money will be used to build the new fire station set to open near the future Gaylord Rockies Hotel and Conference Center in the Denver International Airport area. The city is also looking to add five full-time firefighters for the new Gaylord station, and 20 new more full-time firefighters with new fire equipment citywide.
Aurora Police will see their proposed budget increase in 2017 to $102 million, taking the largest share of any city department included in Aurora’s general fund operating budget.
Aurora has failed in recent years to keep up with police hiring mandates. Right now city law requires roughly two police officers for every 1,000 residents, but Aurora Police academies have had difficulty recruiting a diverse, qualified police force and retaining those recruits in a competitive market.
Aurora City Council also allocated $2 million in one-time funds from marijuana revenue toward concrete and asphalt paving of city streets as part of its 2017 proposed budget.
In other spending requests, the city would use more of its Parks, Recreation and Open Space budget to improve medians throughout Aurora under the 2017 budget proposal. The proposed budget dedicates more than $1 million to general median improvements throughout Aurora, with half of that money going to median improvements along Tower Road.
City officials say 2017 marks the first time in the past three budget years where city staff needed to worry about balancing the budget the next year. They say the city’s 2018 budget may not be balanced with the city likely to face a $3.9 million shortfall in 2018.
One new item that was added to budget following the October City Council budget workshop was a one-time expense of $7,000 toward an Ethiopian radio station.
The city’s total 2017 proposed budget adds up to $703,110,714 when counting other operating funds such as the city’s water fund, funds that have transferred over from the previous year and its new marijuana tax revenue fund, according to city documents.
For 2017, the city’s new marijuana tax revenue fund, which is separate from the general fund, will add $5,750,000 to the city’s overall budget.
A new parking and mobility fund for 2017 will also add $867,485 to city’s overall budget, separate from the general fund. That fund is expected to receive revenue from the Aurora RTD “R” line light rail set to open later this year. This year Aurora City Council approved charging commuters daily and monthly rates to use the 600-space, two-story parking garage being constructed for the Aurora “R” Line Iliff light rail station. Those minimum fees, set to begin in 2017, to park in the Iliff garage, are $3 per day and $50 for monthly parking.