Comment Up
And that is exactly what it is--political.
The message: The purpose of the meeting is to inform everyone of what the Willdan police feasibility study really means and to organize a massive public education effort so that everyone affected by public safety in Lake Worth is fully informed and prepared to oppose the effort to terminate the PBSO contact with FACTS when this comes before the City Commission for a vote.
This meeting room will be packed by all those who have been riled up and convinced that the PBSO is the greatest thing since sliced bread and that our city will go to hell without them. Crime is rampant. Costs for this service continue to escalate. Something has to be done. Perhaps this group today (that has the "facts") will come up with solutions to be able to afford the PBSO.
19 comments:
The pirpose of the meeting was a political rally for Cary Sabol it seemed. Also, it was attended by mostly women, perhaps 3/4 of the audience and were they ever vicious and nasty. This is all about a cause. A cause to defeat the dais and get rid of the city mgr. It was a revolting display by lake worth citizens. I never heard so much bull shit in my life. The only commissioner there that I noticed was Scott.
The meeting was positive and full of public participation. It was not an election campaign for Carey. The study should have included public participation in the first place. About 300 people attended from both "sides". It was a great community grassroots meeting. Very American! Lynn you would have been proud.
Great news. Were there any solutions to retain the PBSO? The Study will eventually include public participation but it will be at city hall. We have had many studies and none have included public participation BEFORE the fact. Why should this one be any different? So, was anything solved...any good ideas?
I would estimate the crowd at 100.
It certainly was not 300 there maybe 150 max. There were a lot of nasty people particularly the main one, don't remember her name.
You are smart for not attending. They had everyone sign in and give emails, phone numbers, etc. Of course Commissioner Maxwell spoke and they introduced all the politicians in the room because hey, this is not political. They criticized the current commission and talked about the up-coming election because hey, they’re non-partisan.
There to see the show
I didn't hear any good ideas, only that they wanted the sheriff
There were a few good points made about problems with the study that I feel are legitimate. But the meeting was disappointingly bereft of thoughtful ways to resolve the budget issue, especially for the number of former city “leaders” in the room.
I did not hear any campaigning at all. The group as a whole, except the plants, think the PBSO has done a great job here. I happen to agree. The question is how can we afford them? The rise in cost each year is much less than report states, about 1.3% as opposed to the 7% we agreed to in the contract. The PBSO has stated they would be willing to work with cash strapped communities and has actually shown they are willing to negotiate. Our city manager is a crack negotiator.
The level of service we receive is substancially higher, in my opinion, than the unincorporated areas just outside the city and the crime rate has definately seemed to go down. But I didn't hear anyone suggest a reduction in level of service.
Suggestions on how to pay for the continued excellent service we receive from the PBSO were non-advelorum assessments on our tax bill so that each property pays, raise in millage and even a not well received idea to add a fee on the utility bill.
I did not hear any of the posters above publicly say anything at the meeting to oppose the reason everyone was there, but there sure did seem to be some progressive plants from the dark side. In one of the pictures taken javier del sol was seen covering his face so that he could not later be identified as a supporter of this group. I thought that was ..."special".
I hope all who are interested in keeping the professional, non-political, well trained and responsive Sheriff's Office here to respond to gangs and their graffiti, prostitution and other community oriented policing here in Lake Worth will ACTIVELY get involved in showing your support by attending each and every meeting, writing your commissioner and getting your neighbors involved.
Cost and ineffective results and a top heavy crony filled department is why we went to the Sheriff's Department in the first place. Why would we want to go back to that?
You said that this was a community event but above you say that there were "plants." Was not everyone invited and welcomed afterall?
Don't kid yourself when you say that the Sheriff is non-political. Are you kidding? They are masters at it.
Did anyone there even consider that the Sheriff could LOWER ITS COSTS? We Already pay for Sheriff services on our tax bill. Now you have come up with the idea to tax us even more for the same things we already get and are taxed for?
To answer your last question--Yes, the city had a management problem with the former LWPD. However, let me say once again, the same 85% of these deputies are the exact same guys who were on the LWPD. It is totally a management issue and it is costing us $3 million more than what it could take.
Raising taxes is a novel idea to keep a very expensive service. I would expect that the Sheriff's Dept WILL negotiate its contract and give us one that we can possibly struggle by with but the same problem will exist every year going forward.
I'm glad that it was a success in your eyes. You did what you wanted to do--got 150 people to attend to listen to your political spiel and got a whole new mailing list of people for your political end.
I commend you on the amount of work and organization it took in such a short time.
Please provide examples of the so called revolting behavior I missed all that. And if residents are sick of the city manager and city commissioners and want to get rid of them so what? You refuse to focus on the fact that 300 residents took time out in the middle of a saturday afternoon to attend a meeting they were notified of at the last minute. That should tell you something about how they really feel.
You claimed you weren't there how do you know there were 150 people there? Check the photos on the fact based blog. A large room was packed with double 150 people. Don't try to p on a positive meeting just because you are against it. Remember the old saying Lynn, don't go away mad, just go away?......
Well, thanks for your charming advice. I have no plans on going anywhere. 100 people. 150 people. 300 people? Several numbers were tossed around. Don't know anything about a "fact based blog." Whose facts? Who is the author of it? Send link. I don't believe that I "pissed" on your political meeting. I just want to know what solutions you came up with to afford the PBSO. Did you come up with any or was this just a meeting to get people all worked up and to talk about those you consider "the dark side."
Also, I have been told that there was NOT a cross section of the public there--one black (Retha Lowe), about 3 Hispanics and a bunch of rousers.
If you had an educational meeting, then how come NO solutions or even a viable suggestion as we go into our $4.5 million shortfall.
Anony said above, The level of service we receive is substantially higher, in my opinion, than the unincorporated areas just outside the city.
Prove that. There is no way that they would open themselves up to a law suit. Glad to know it is only your opinion.
It was MY humble opinion and I base it on discussions I've had with the 2 road patrol deputies assigned to an area West of Lake Worth that stretched from Summit Blvd to Atlantic Ave in Delray, from incorporated cities out to 441.
Lynn, your citation of 85% of personnell that worked here before didn't take into account what capacity they worked. Again, in my humble opinion, from discussions with those who were there and are still here, many of our bloated hierarchy sat behind desks. The cronyism was rampant and a very real reason new hires would find little chance of advancement and move on quickly. The reason the Sheriff could increase the manpower on the street so noticeably was so many desk sitters were now on active patrol. YES That is a managerial problem.
So why do we want to go back down THAT path?
I am reading the Willdan report now and it says 80%; Stanton used the figure of 85%. Those of us who supported the minority vote at the time believed 100% that it was a management issue...I still firmly believe that to be the case. With proper management in place and a strong city manager, we can achieve what we need in shift assignments, etc. If you let any department go unattended, you will have massive inefficiency. We can't have a police chief out cruising on his boat as an example and let the ranks take care of safety. Here is LW we had bad management not only in the police department but at city hall. Things have changed.
So what you see here now is GOOD management?
Susan Stanton, after years of managerial experience, has an uncanny ability to hire highly professional people. Why should that stop with a police dept?
We obviously have very differing opinions of what managerial experience is. Does a good manager scream and curse at their subordinates? I personaly could not work under such a person, and some very good city staff have left because of it. She seems emotionally unbalanced possibly due to hormones. No... I'm not a doctor but think about it.
Further, does her litigation prowess show a multitude of skills yet untapped? I hope she is not just getting warmed up. This could get expensive.
I believe she has manipulated her three votes in a less than prudent manner that will cause us great pain in the near and distant future.
I will agree that she is not stupid and her organizational skills and attention to detail are noteworthy. This position calls for these skills, but we are talking about management, people skills. She has NONE.
Can I hear you say AMEN!!! Brothers and Sisters!!
LOL--No one said that this was going to be a walk in the park. It takes a tough person during tough times. Hopefully, the CM will treat staff a little kinder and a little gentler but leave the kid gloves off.
As far as law suits, everyone loves to sue LW. Your comment made me laugh because there is truth in what you say. No one should "dick" around with Susan.
:) AMEN
Post a Comment