Apr 19 - Voters in Fort Worth began heading to the polls today to vote on a controversial sales tax. That program, however, will expire later this year unless voters decide to keep it. Five years ago, Fort Worth had one of the highest crime rates in the nation. The city saw more than 130 murders in 1995. Last year there were 67, including the seven people who died in the Wedgwood Baptist Church shooting.
Crime is down citywide.
City officials attribute the lower crime rate to the Crime Control and Prevention District. Frances Wagner says her daughter was robbed five times and lived in fear until a Citizens on Patrol group started in her neighborhood keeping criminals away. But at a meeting of senior citizens today, many spoke out against the tax saying they are paying for unneeded programs. They say when the crime tax was first proposed five years ago, it was sold as a temporary tax that would reduce crime by 50 percent. But city officials say taking away the tax now would mean cutting programs, and they fear that could drive the crime rate back up again.