In the first resolution passed, the County Board urges the State legislature to put together a program of payments to compensate local governments and school districts for tax revenue that cannot be collected from tax-exempt properties. In a second resolution, the Board states that businesses run by tax-exempt institutions such as stores, restaurants or fitness centers operated as competitive businesses by colleges and universities should be taxable by local school districts and governments. The report, the result of more than two years work, will be used as a guide for future public and private economic development activities. Subcommittee members include District Attorney George Dentes, Ithaca Police Chief Rick Basile, and Judge John Sherman. The group gathered and studied research on crime prevention programs locally and nationally.
Education alone is insufficient.
Classroom programs like D.A.R.E., while helping students feel more comfortable about police, have not been shown to prevent future drug use or crime. Behavior modification does work. Solutions tailored to suit individual schools also have a high success rate. Neighborhood or community policing works if it is intensively applied, is personal, and is respectful of residents. Community involvement in crime reduction, such as reporting on drug houses, is also effective.