The concern over the lengthened days is legitimate. You can all stop asking about whether the Town's goal was to save money or not. I can assure you that saving money was the sole goal of going to twelve hour days.

The reason that it seems that we have been stripped to bare minimum is that they used to be willing to supplement manpower shortages with overtime. If there were five people in training, they would pay officers to bring up the minimum. They are no longer willing to do this.

There also seems to be the impression that we are starting our days with 20 officers. This is incorrect. There have been a few times when we have had 18 officers, but this is rare and depends on no one taking vacation or using sick time. The situation that occurs every night from about 5 - 630 PM is a tremendous disservice to the residents of this city. There are times when we have half a dozen officers responsible for the entire city. This may be alleviated by the new schedule, but it was allowed to go on for three months without adjustment.

The answer to the question of whether or not the town went to 12's to save money is kind of obvious. It is not safer; it is not easier for the officers; it robs the city of enhanced manpower during peak hours and it has been a tremendous hindrance to training.

As one commenter said, the 10's are in the contract, but don't hold your breath. They didn't go to 12's for you and they aren't getting rid of them for you. This saves them a ton of money and you aren't the one's electing Council members. I would also be willing to bet that if the citizens knew what they were giving up in terms of police service, they would still be in favor of the 12's. People want a police department, but for the most part never think that they will have to use them.