“It allows us to have deputies patrol New Carlisle,” he said.
New Carlisle doesn’t have its own police force. Instead, it contracts with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office to have four deputies strictly patrol New Carlisle. As part of the contract, New Carlisle is responsible for paying the deputy’s salaries, benefits and other expenses.
The levy is a half-percent income tax that was first approved in 2015. The new levy is a carbon copy of the old levy, Lowery said. Lowrey said the income tax allowed the city to contract four deputies instead of two.
“And because we have more deputies it makes the city more safe and protected,” Lowrey said.
Some New Carlisle residents have taken to social media over the past couple of weeks to complain about the levy. They argue that the money can be better spent building New Carlisle’s own police department instead of relying on the sheriff’s office.
Lowrey disagrees.
“I look at surrounding communities our size that have police departments and these places tend to become speed traps or they struggle to keep one or two deputies,” Lowrey said. “When you have a community our size that has their own police department, you’re always going to have rookies who are here to get some training and experience and then leave for the higher pay. Or you’re going to get an older officer who is on the tail of his or her career. They are usually not there to fight crime as they used to when they are younger, if you will.”
He said he is happy with the deputies patrolling New Carlisle streets.
“We’ve had some really good deputies,” Lowrey said. “No deputy is perfect, But we had some deputies that really cared for our city and I hope to keep them.
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