INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard is seeking a tax increase to pay for hiring more police officers as part of a wide-ranging response to the city's recent surge in deadly violence.
Ballard told city and community leaders Wednesday he'll seek an increase in the city's public safety income tax to hire 280 additional police officers by 2018. He also wants more preschool funding and tougher curfew rules for youth.
Ballard says none of his proposals will be an overnight fix for Indiana's capital, which has seen 80 homicides so far this year, but they'll help address crime's root causes.
The mayor also wants up to $10 million more for Marion County's government, including county courts and community corrections and says he'll continue lobbying state lawmakers for tougher sentences in gun-related crimes.
