09-27-2007, 12:51 PM
Please let me vent for a few.
There are a few things I just can't understand. There seem to be 2 issues at hand. First, the fact the Officers are completely unhappy and want to merge with the SO.
My response: While there are several which would be happy to merge, from Ive seen, the vast majority do not want the merger. Don't get me wrong, we would support it if it happened, I mean we do have to pay the bills...but we don't want to see it happen. For those that do want to be a deputy....Go ahead, we have lost many to the SO and other fine agencies, but you don't need a merger to leave for a better opportunity. Isn't it telling when the sheriff hold a meeting a 5 people show up?
Second: The city of Bartow would save all kinds of money (ive heard around $500,000) if law enforcement was contracted with the sheriff's office.
My response: Since when has it become the norm to throw your hands up as city administrators and say say.."We simply cannot budget our funds, cannot control our spending, and therefore, need to save the 500,000 a year so we can continue to spend on other services/projects? Is this not a direct failure of your finance director and of the city management failing to control themselves?
See, it seems to me if you compare the city to your own family......there are certain things you must have...food, electricity, water, a roof etc. In government, aren't those called infrastructure? The things a city needs...Um, electricity, water, police and fire protection, education, sanitation.....and the like...those are infrastructure are they not? Things such as parks, civic centers, landscaping, etc etc are not needed to ru8n a city.....So if my wife wants me to redo the landscaping around my home (think matching funds for grants for improvements), and my son wants a new basketball poll (think carver rec), and my other son wants a new bike (think new 500,000 fire truck) and I do the bills and find that we don't have the money because we have to buy things like electricity and water and food, then I tell them we have to wait till next year. Isn't that what a family does? Isn't that what a city government should do?
To Mr. Purvis, who so grandly stated to the commission we should contract law enforcement out to save money... Would you tell your wife to go ahead and buy that new vehicle and the family will simply do without food? (To make statements like.....We spend x amount of dollars on Parks and rec...would a family? makes my point.) Or why for that matter stop with law enforcement? Hell lets build a new city hall, new parks and rec, new motor pool, and 10 more parks....To afford these, lets see how much we can save if the county will fight our fires for us....Lets see if we can contract out the sanitation for the entire city, lets double the electric rates to the citizens.....and why stop there...hell lets fire the commission and save their salaries, after all i'm sure the COUNTY Commission could make the decisions couldn't they?
Some of these are ridiculous aren't they? Of course they are....and to say we are no longer intelligent enough to properly budget our finances is also ridiculous isn't it? After all, Auburndale, Winter Haven, Mulberry, Lake Alfred...and on and on and on, seem to be able to keep their basic infrastructuire in place.....What does that say about our government officials? Are they completely inept? or just lazy?
Finally, Have we and other cities not faced budget crunches before? Have we and other cities not weathered those storms? Dont you have to raise taxes on occasions for new construction, roads, infrastructure? Why are we so quick to say....Hey we cant control ourselves, we need someone else to do the job for us......
p.s. Think long and hard Bartow...Its not so easy to say we made a mistake and just start a police department after its been dismantled. The same people who preach small town Bartow should remain and we should control growth, want to give up the first police department founded within Polk County and has the greatest history. Most citizens really dont care either way untill you need us...Think about that fact the SO routinely handles police calls for service over the telephone. Think about response times when your house is on fire or when a rapist is breaking in your daughters bedroom (it has happened here). The director and sheriff will say our response times are not what they seem. I say Bullshizz. the fact is, certain calls do pend yes, but when you call and say someone is breaking in your house, you have an entire shift at your door within 90 seconds. Think about that the fact that the SO is actually allowed to go 10-18 (lights and siren) based on distance from a call. That means they are so far away, they are allowed to use lights ands siren to get there within 30 minutes......Dont give up on us Bartow. Dont thow away your police departmnent to save a few bucks.
And Culpepper.....stop....stop...stop...you are the one who continues to start these rumors of a take over. Don't tell people you are placing it on the agenda to make us feel better over here at the pd. Thats crap and you know it. A fine clerk you are, an interim city manager you are not. Stop being a puppet for the commission, thats not your job. Let them hire a city manager who can make these decisions..Hope you can sleep well at night knowing you have neither the experience or expertise to make the decisions you are making but continue to make decisions that effect not just the employees at the pd but their families as well.
Thanks for letting me vent all......and no..no name...those who know me, know who wrote this....Like others, I have a mortgage and yes, I too am still job scared.
There are a few things I just can't understand. There seem to be 2 issues at hand. First, the fact the Officers are completely unhappy and want to merge with the SO.
My response: While there are several which would be happy to merge, from Ive seen, the vast majority do not want the merger. Don't get me wrong, we would support it if it happened, I mean we do have to pay the bills...but we don't want to see it happen. For those that do want to be a deputy....Go ahead, we have lost many to the SO and other fine agencies, but you don't need a merger to leave for a better opportunity. Isn't it telling when the sheriff hold a meeting a 5 people show up?
Second: The city of Bartow would save all kinds of money (ive heard around $500,000) if law enforcement was contracted with the sheriff's office.
My response: Since when has it become the norm to throw your hands up as city administrators and say say.."We simply cannot budget our funds, cannot control our spending, and therefore, need to save the 500,000 a year so we can continue to spend on other services/projects? Is this not a direct failure of your finance director and of the city management failing to control themselves?
See, it seems to me if you compare the city to your own family......there are certain things you must have...food, electricity, water, a roof etc. In government, aren't those called infrastructure? The things a city needs...Um, electricity, water, police and fire protection, education, sanitation.....and the like...those are infrastructure are they not? Things such as parks, civic centers, landscaping, etc etc are not needed to ru8n a city.....So if my wife wants me to redo the landscaping around my home (think matching funds for grants for improvements), and my son wants a new basketball poll (think carver rec), and my other son wants a new bike (think new 500,000 fire truck) and I do the bills and find that we don't have the money because we have to buy things like electricity and water and food, then I tell them we have to wait till next year. Isn't that what a family does? Isn't that what a city government should do?
To Mr. Purvis, who so grandly stated to the commission we should contract law enforcement out to save money... Would you tell your wife to go ahead and buy that new vehicle and the family will simply do without food? (To make statements like.....We spend x amount of dollars on Parks and rec...would a family? makes my point.) Or why for that matter stop with law enforcement? Hell lets build a new city hall, new parks and rec, new motor pool, and 10 more parks....To afford these, lets see how much we can save if the county will fight our fires for us....Lets see if we can contract out the sanitation for the entire city, lets double the electric rates to the citizens.....and why stop there...hell lets fire the commission and save their salaries, after all i'm sure the COUNTY Commission could make the decisions couldn't they?
Some of these are ridiculous aren't they? Of course they are....and to say we are no longer intelligent enough to properly budget our finances is also ridiculous isn't it? After all, Auburndale, Winter Haven, Mulberry, Lake Alfred...and on and on and on, seem to be able to keep their basic infrastructuire in place.....What does that say about our government officials? Are they completely inept? or just lazy?
Finally, Have we and other cities not faced budget crunches before? Have we and other cities not weathered those storms? Dont you have to raise taxes on occasions for new construction, roads, infrastructure? Why are we so quick to say....Hey we cant control ourselves, we need someone else to do the job for us......
p.s. Think long and hard Bartow...Its not so easy to say we made a mistake and just start a police department after its been dismantled. The same people who preach small town Bartow should remain and we should control growth, want to give up the first police department founded within Polk County and has the greatest history. Most citizens really dont care either way untill you need us...Think about that fact the SO routinely handles police calls for service over the telephone. Think about response times when your house is on fire or when a rapist is breaking in your daughters bedroom (it has happened here). The director and sheriff will say our response times are not what they seem. I say Bullshizz. the fact is, certain calls do pend yes, but when you call and say someone is breaking in your house, you have an entire shift at your door within 90 seconds. Think about that the fact that the SO is actually allowed to go 10-18 (lights and siren) based on distance from a call. That means they are so far away, they are allowed to use lights ands siren to get there within 30 minutes......Dont give up on us Bartow. Dont thow away your police departmnent to save a few bucks.
And Culpepper.....stop....stop...stop...you are the one who continues to start these rumors of a take over. Don't tell people you are placing it on the agenda to make us feel better over here at the pd. Thats crap and you know it. A fine clerk you are, an interim city manager you are not. Stop being a puppet for the commission, thats not your job. Let them hire a city manager who can make these decisions..Hope you can sleep well at night knowing you have neither the experience or expertise to make the decisions you are making but continue to make decisions that effect not just the employees at the pd but their families as well.
Thanks for letting me vent all......and no..no name...those who know me, know who wrote this....Like others, I have a mortgage and yes, I too am still job scared.