08-26-2008, 11:52 AM
Lake Worth-sheriff's merger crucial
Palm Beach Post Letters to the Editor
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
City needs better coverage
Merging the Lake Worth Police Department with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office is the only responsible action the city commission can take tonight when this contract is up for approval.
Our city's most basic promise to residents is to provide for the safety of our homes and families. That security has become increasingly compromised, with violence occurring with deadly frequency. Murders are at an all-time high in Lake Worth. Burglary, home invasions, gang activity, prostitution, drug dealing and armed robberies threaten every neighborhood and business community. Lake Worth has not added positions to its police force since it was reduced by 10 percent in 1998, despite massive increases in its budget.
The department has earned accreditation and, more important, the respect and trust of city residents despite an appalling lack of resources and personnel to meet the demands of a city larger and more populous than it was 10 years ago. The sheriff's office will immediately bring much-needed new organization, revised shift schedules resulting in a 60 percent increase in officers on regular patrol as well as additional resources and the special law enforcement teams that criminals fear and residents deserve.
Commissioners who object to the merger on financial grounds fail to consider the crushing cost of future pension obligations as well as the intangible cost of lost opportunities to attract working families as home-owning, taxpaying contributors to our city. I support this merger and look forward to a new commission with members who honor and support law enforcement, code enforcement and the safety of Lake Worth residents.
MARY LINDSEY
Lake Worth
Editor's note: Mary Lindsey is a candidate for the District 2 commission seat.
It's about citizens taking control
I found some letters to the editor concerning the decision by the Lake Worth City Commission to contract with the sheriff's office shortsighted and lacking a basic understanding of operating a city.
Fuel costs, pensions and raises were named as things Lake Worth will continue to be responsible for even after the shift to the sheriff. In her letter, City Commissioner Cara Jennings did not mention that if Lake Worth had chosen to keep its police department, these items would have remained the responsibility of Lake Worth, in addition to the rising pension fees. Lake Worth is not in a position to offer the officers enough resources to be effective in the fight against gangs and other serious crime in the city.
Commissioner Jennings has had ample opportunity to offer solutions, but all city departments are unable to attract new talent or keep the talent they have. The dangling carrot for the police was the great pension, which turns out to be bad financial planning.
As much as Commissioner Jennings has the right to practice her "absence of government" politics, I have the right as a business owner and a land-owning taxpayer to demand to have good governance and quality policing to keep me and my customers safe. Lake Worth needs this change to show its citizens that the city is serious about the future. With this decision made, I believe that the citizens will see that well-planned growth and a solid tax base are needed to develop the city and make it self-reliant.
Years of poor planning, fear of growth and the passing of Amendment 1 have catapulted Lake Worth backward. Lake Worth is in a serious situation, and the city needs to take serious steps to pull itself up. This merger is the citizens taking control, not giving it up.
SHANON MATERIO
Lake Worth
Editor's note: Shanon Materio is president of McMow Art Glass in Lake Worth.
Palm Beach Post Letters to the Editor
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
City needs better coverage
Merging the Lake Worth Police Department with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office is the only responsible action the city commission can take tonight when this contract is up for approval.
Our city's most basic promise to residents is to provide for the safety of our homes and families. That security has become increasingly compromised, with violence occurring with deadly frequency. Murders are at an all-time high in Lake Worth. Burglary, home invasions, gang activity, prostitution, drug dealing and armed robberies threaten every neighborhood and business community. Lake Worth has not added positions to its police force since it was reduced by 10 percent in 1998, despite massive increases in its budget.
The department has earned accreditation and, more important, the respect and trust of city residents despite an appalling lack of resources and personnel to meet the demands of a city larger and more populous than it was 10 years ago. The sheriff's office will immediately bring much-needed new organization, revised shift schedules resulting in a 60 percent increase in officers on regular patrol as well as additional resources and the special law enforcement teams that criminals fear and residents deserve.
Commissioners who object to the merger on financial grounds fail to consider the crushing cost of future pension obligations as well as the intangible cost of lost opportunities to attract working families as home-owning, taxpaying contributors to our city. I support this merger and look forward to a new commission with members who honor and support law enforcement, code enforcement and the safety of Lake Worth residents.
MARY LINDSEY
Lake Worth
Editor's note: Mary Lindsey is a candidate for the District 2 commission seat.
It's about citizens taking control
I found some letters to the editor concerning the decision by the Lake Worth City Commission to contract with the sheriff's office shortsighted and lacking a basic understanding of operating a city.
Fuel costs, pensions and raises were named as things Lake Worth will continue to be responsible for even after the shift to the sheriff. In her letter, City Commissioner Cara Jennings did not mention that if Lake Worth had chosen to keep its police department, these items would have remained the responsibility of Lake Worth, in addition to the rising pension fees. Lake Worth is not in a position to offer the officers enough resources to be effective in the fight against gangs and other serious crime in the city.
Commissioner Jennings has had ample opportunity to offer solutions, but all city departments are unable to attract new talent or keep the talent they have. The dangling carrot for the police was the great pension, which turns out to be bad financial planning.
As much as Commissioner Jennings has the right to practice her "absence of government" politics, I have the right as a business owner and a land-owning taxpayer to demand to have good governance and quality policing to keep me and my customers safe. Lake Worth needs this change to show its citizens that the city is serious about the future. With this decision made, I believe that the citizens will see that well-planned growth and a solid tax base are needed to develop the city and make it self-reliant.
Years of poor planning, fear of growth and the passing of Amendment 1 have catapulted Lake Worth backward. Lake Worth is in a serious situation, and the city needs to take serious steps to pull itself up. This merger is the citizens taking control, not giving it up.
SHANON MATERIO
Lake Worth
Editor's note: Shanon Materio is president of McMow Art Glass in Lake Worth.