Fort Worth Tarrant County NAACP: Vote NO on crime district

By The Executive Committee Fort Worth Tarrant County Branch NAACP

The Executive Committee of the Fort Worth Tarrant County Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is very concerned with the request to vote in favor of Proposition A, the City of Fort Worth Crime Control and Prevention District (CCPD) Sales Tax Proposal.

While the initial intent of the CCPD was to protect and empower the community, a great number of the members of the community, in particular the Black and Brown community and their allies, don’t see that intent in the proposed proposition as presented on the July 14 ballot.

The list of concerns is long but the following are the most articulated throughout the community:

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– The CCPD generated $78 million in fiscal year 2019, with the vast majority going to the police department. The police department is also budgeted to receive about $290 million from the city in 2020. CCPD funds are generated from a half-cent sales tax. But where does the FWPD spend its share of the CCPD money? That’s 38% for equipment, tech and infrastructure; 29% for Enhanced Enforcement; 19% for Neighborhood Crime Prevention (neighborhood police officers and storefronts etc.), and 6% for PARTNERS WITH A SHARED MISSION (after school programs, Coming Up Gang Intervention, community based programs, police athletic league and One Safe Place). The community gets about 6% of the pie with 100% of the problems.

– There has been no real community input into how the CCPD monies are spent. Currently, the Board of Directors for the CCPD is the Fort Worth City Council.

– Over the years the budgeted percentage of the funds to the community groups has gone from 80% to 20%. In this proposal 80% of the funds will go to police.

– The CCPD is asked to be renewed for 10 years instead of the previous five-year extension. This means policy options will change as different council members come on the council who have no prior experience with the program.

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The fact that the proposition was added to the primary runoff Ballot without any significant prior notification to the public shows a lack of transparency.

The above listed concerns, among others, are reasons the Executive Committee of the Fort Worth Tarrant County Branch of the NAACP urges all to vote “NO” July 14 on the 10-year renewal of the City of Fort Worth Crime Control and Prevention District.

Contributors:

Estella Williams, President

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Blake W. Moorman, 1st Vice President

Ericka Cain, 2nd Vice President

Ora J. Washington, Secretary

Franklin Moss Sr., Treasurer