Groups Want To Put Brakes On New Police Home

Several groups joined in opposition Wednesday to try to put the brakes on a new home for the Raleigh Police Department.

Americans for Prosperity, the Wake County Taxpayers Association and Bob Orr, Director of the North Carolina Institute for Constitutional Law, all joined together in a press conference.

They said the current design of the Lightner Public Safety Center is too extravagant and could be scaled back.

"I don't think it needs to be as pretentious as the designs that I've seen," said Truman Newberry with the Wake County Taxpayers Association.

The 16-story tower would be built on the current site of the police headquarters at McDowell and Hargett streets downtown. The $205 million project would house police, fire and emergency communications.

The project would be paid for by as much as an 8 percent property tax increase spread over five years. City officials have said that increase will also pay for other City projects.

Dallas Woodhouse with Americans for Prosperity said the City should also hold a public vote on the project.

"I wonder if there is not some, quite frankly, some simple laziness here, that the politicians just don't want to do the hard work of going to convince voters why this project is necessary," he said.

The City is not required to hold a public vote because of the way the project is being paid for, which is through certificates of participation.

Some Council members and Mayor Charles Meeker have said they want to move ahead with the project now to lock in low construction costs and interest rates.

"Over the 20-year life of a loan, if we can lock into those rates now, we can save the public $50 million," Councilor Mary-Ann Baldwin said.

Baldwin said any public vote would not be possible until November, although Woodhouse argued it could happen in May.

Baldwin also said the current design of the project is not excessive.

"I think some of the things people have talked about actually have more to do with serving our public safely," she said. "I don't consider that an extravagant expense."

Some City Council members have expressed concerns about the design of the building, which has been talked about at several previous Council meetings.

They could take a vote on the project at their meeting next week.