Polk details public safety, foster care, building permits stats over last decade

 

By Leah Justice

leah.justice@tryondailybulletin.com

 

Polk County’s last presidential election in 2012 saw a 72 percent voter turnout, which was the largest voter turnout in the last decade.

Polk County recently released varying statistics for departments during its audit report for year-ending June 30, 2015.

Polk County’s last county election (non-municipal) was in 2014 and saw a 49 percent turnout. The 2008 presidential election saw a 71 percent voter turnout for Polk County.

Other statistics include number of inmates processed in the Polk County Jail since 2006, number of building permits issued, number of EMS calls dispatched, public transportation miles and passengers, number of children in foster care, number of plats recorded, volumes and circulation of the library, current expense per student and tons of waste received.

The number of inmates processed at the jail has grown from 648 in 2006 to 1,119 in 2015, according to the audit report. There were 926 inmates processed in 2014, 687 in 2013 and 757 in 2012.

The number of building permits issued over the last decade has varied from 211 in 2006 to 72 in 2015, according to the audit report. The lowest number of building permits issued over the last decade was 34 in 2011 and the highest was 211 in 2006. There were 59 building permits issued in 2014, 44 in 2013 and 44 in 2012.

The number of EMS calls dispatched has increased most years over the past decade. There were 2,329 calls dispatched in 2006 compared to 3,237 calls dispatched in 2015, according to the audit report. There were 2,725 calls in 2014, 2,790 calls in 2013 and 2,617 calls dispatched in 2012.

The number of children in foster care in Polk County has decreased over the past decade. There were 64 children in foster care in 2006 compared to 33 children in foster care in 2015, according to the audit report. There were 17 children in foster care in 2014, 21 children in foster care in 2013 and 20 children in foster care in 2012.

The number of plats recorded has decreased over the past decade with 322 plats recorded in 2006 compared to 175 plats recorded in 2015, according to the audit report. The highest number of plats recorded over the past decade occurred in 2007 with 337 plats recorded. The lowest number of plats recorded in Polk County occurred in 2013 with 128. There were 169 plats recorded in 2014 and 149 recorded in 2012.

The current expense per ADM for Polk County Schools has increased over the past decade with $1,520 spent on each child in 2006 compared to $2,168 spent in 2015, according to the audit report.

Tons of waste received at the Polk County transfer station has also increased over the past decade with 14,370 tons of waste received in 2006 compared to 21,440 tons of waste received in 2015, according to the audit report. The transfer station received 22,653 tons of waste in 2014, 20,894 tons in 2013 and 18,808 tons in 2012.

Information for the statistics was received from various county departments.