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The PB Post Editorial today said that the City of Lake Worth should not be spending money on a Study to explore our options regarding Public Safety, namely police. Why is it their business? I disagree with this editorial as I do with a large percentage of them. We should always be exploring options. By not doing so, we continue to make poor and costly decisions. This is just good business.
Marra states that PBSO said that it would "work with Lake Worth." The City asked for another decrease and the PBSO said "no," that they would walk off the job. Marra also states that we in Lake Worth have had "significant improvements in resident's safety and quality of life." Please cite them. The fee that we pay to PBSO was only lowered last year because the number of men was reduced by nine but the increase per the Contract can still be raised to 7%. Yes, gang activity has been greatly reduced thanks to Ric Bradshaw's Gang Task Force that worked County wide. This task force has now been dissolved in April 2010 because of budget constraints. Perhaps we should again, ask for a decrease.
Was it the change of uniform color or was it a management problem when we dissolved our own police department? We still pay for the Sheriff in our ad valorem. Is this duel taxation? Don't get me wrong--I like the Sheriff. The problem for me is, can we afford the Sheriff?
Newsmen are in a Union, the Newspaper Guild. Can they be objective when a little, struggling city such as Lake Worth is being strangled by the Unions and the very expensive PBSO and only want to find out its options, something we should have done well before we made the emotional and political decision to turn over our policing to PBSO over two years ago, another 3/2 vote.
10 comments:
I noticed where Parilla took a snide remark at you. The vote was 3 to 2 to get a study. They just don't want to admit that they lost this past election. Losers.
Gail
Loved this blog. You really hit it right on and gave me things to consider. I also like the Sheriff but never have had any concrete reason to do so. Are they making strides? Just last month we had a string of house burglaries. Crime is still rampant. I seldom ever see a sheriff riding around here.
Joe
Who is Parrilla?
Lynn you are so wrong on this one. Cara voted against PBSO because her and her friends get arrested all the time by PBSO and she hates cops. In fact she advocates that neighborhoods police themselves. Golden is lost in space and wants to protect the illegals. CRIME IS WAY DOWN. GANGS ARE UNDER CONTROL. Even the Post knows how well PBSO has functioned in this city. All they have to do is look at the crime stories reported in the county.
A little melodramatic I think as well as exaggerated. Cara has never said that she is against policing. She is, however, concerned about police (any police force) abuse or police going against the civil rights of people. The Sheriff has functioned well in the County, period, not just Lake Worth. We are talking about COST, COST, COST. We are talking about whether we need a Ford or whether we need to buy a Cadillac to get us to where we want to go.
Yes, gangs have been crushed but there are plenty of gangs in PB County. They are being quiet at the moment because many of them went up on RICO charges and are in prison. Even gang members know when to shut up.
The Post agreed with your point of view. So what's new?
These are the State crime numbers which speak for themselves:
For the first six months of 2010, the latest state statistics available, the total number of crimes was 1,034, down from 1,204 during the same time in 2009. The greatest drops were in rape, aggravated assault and burglary.
There were two homicides each in the first six months of 2010 and 2009.
For the first six months of 2008, under the city's 91-member Police Department, there were 1,397 crimes, including five homicides.
The Sheriff's Office covers Lake Worth with 80 sworn deputies, Capt. Rolando Silva said, and 11-12 per shift on patrol
What we don't know is how many crimes did not happen because criminals decided not to come to Lake Worth to commit that rape or who knows what else. Our safety is too important. It is far more than a cost issue. It is life and death for some who live in the worst parts of this city.
Police are a necessary evil. If the city says it is too expensive, then it is. Why not believe the city? No one can catch criminals and criminals are not scared of them. This is all about the money and PBSO wants as much as they can take from Lake Worth. Ask Belle Glade how they handled the expense. Ask Pahokee. They renegotiated the contract, something that the Sheriff will not do in Lake Worth this year as we start our Budget process and it is estimated that we will have $3.5 mil less. Ask Clemens how to get out of this mess.
With our own department, we have control over costs. With the Sheriff, we do not and it is a constant year on year game of negotiations. We can't win this one. We will never win this. We are stuck with a Clemens, Lowe and Vespo very bad decision. It makes you wonder if they even read the Contract.
This is the same as some little kid insisting he wants the big green lollipop that costs $2 instead of the smaller blue one that costs $1.50...just because he thinks he likes the taste better or because it is bigger or someone told him that anything else is less than he deserves. Mommy can't afford it but the kid gets his way.
Crime stats are coming from the Sheriff. Who knows the circumstances that drove down some numbers. It could be a number of things or it could be that criminals are living in fear of PBSO.
Sorry, Ric, being a LW High graduate and all. You are doing what you think is necessary and so is Lake Worth.
The candy things asumes that the service or item your buying is not really needed. So you can be stupid and buy what you can't afford. I see it differently. If you are a diabetic and you cut your foot you can try to treat it yourself for much less than going to a doctor who has treated thousands of these cases. Yes you will save monet and stay within your budget if you do it yourself. Only problem is you may lose your leg if the infection spreads. This is a far more serious issue
Just try to imagine Chief Smith and the LWPD still being on the job today, what the city would look like. They were overmatched by the criminal element in Lake Worth. That's not the case with PBSO.
I would rather see the city stop the r.o. plant to save money until they had the money to pay for it.
Cara voted against PBSO because she has personal issues with them and is against any kind of police. Golden voted with Cara because she always did, she's also against police and is concerned the illegals are afraid of police uniforms. Are you really going to count their votes? 90% of the residents in attendance at the meeting spoke in favor of the change to PBSO. What happened to "listen to the people"? and as you often like to say, you lost accept it.
Just try to imagine, for one little minute, that the City of LW had changed management with the LW Police--changed the shifts and put more men on the streets. Right now, crime is up in 2011. Granted, the Sheriff's Gang Task Force did a lot to end drive-by shootings but we would have had that service anyway. Just because the Masonic Lodge was packed full of police, their families, their kids and friends clapping wildly to go to PBSO, shows me they went there for the money. And the rest of them, like you, were reacting on emotions, not good business sense. If you know so much, tell me what's in the Contract and what it is costing us. Also, sign your real name.
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