Taxpayers beware

[concernedtaxpayer]

NPPD admin is at it again, asking the commission to approve a120 million dollar new HQ. They state the present HQ referred to as the castle is to small for the 130 member force and more room is needed. The castle is centrally located and is Walkin accessible if needed. reason #1, no room for evidence and impounds etc, reason #2 not up to standards for the rank and file, lockers, showers, fitness etc. Reason#3 read carefully, NPPD admin anticipates that in the year 2074 (yes 50 yrs from now) they will have a force of 650 officers. My reply in 50 yrs wont the new bldg be obsolete ??? The castle is more than adequate for the present force, maybe a little dated but certainly enough room and there is room to add on if needed. Have u driven by and seen the intentional deterioration of this bldg, Definitely needs a roof. Here's he skinny, Venice PD, SCCO and CCSO all have recently built new stations way under the cost NPPD wants, called keeping up with the jones. We as taxpayers are being fleeced, we all support the blue, but at what cost. They complained the ford explores were to small, (a six person veh) and only one officer inside, so the city purchased 60 Chevy Tahoes, at about 75 grand each, equipped, then they purchased 6 Ford F150 crew cab pickups and several dodge durangos, which are smaller than the explorers, total waste of money. we are talking millions and millions of dollars here. The proposed new station located on toledo and tropicare will be on the far end of the city, referred to as the boonies, adding at least another 15 mins response time to 41, the lot has already been purchased and cleared. Except for day shift at most times there are 6-10 officers on the road plus the dispatchers inside, on days admin and detectives also. Plenty of room for everyone. This in addition to the new west villages station and the North Port blvd station. NPPD officers, if they want can make 100 grand plus a year, along with their new vehicles, most live outside the city and we pay the freight. By NPPD own admission states 70 percent of all crime is traffic related. How many of us the taxpayers make this kind of money, we are struggleing with bills, groceries etc. Now after getting the west end station they want another new HQ. I support the blue, but enough is enough, the commission needs to tighten the reins and tell NPPD to do you job with what you have, we can no longer afford the luxuries we have given the NPPD. There will be tax increases, sales tax increases etc. Make no mistake we as the taxpayers will pay for this

[Stephanie Gibson]

Ayep... it is what it is. I guess there are worse places to blow the bucks on.

I really wanted to support and campaign for the new HQs but i also think they went way beyond any sense of reasonableness. It is unfair for today's citizens to pay for the lack of planning in the past AND pay for the growth for the next 40 years. The extra space sounds great in theory. Maybe they should have gone with a campus and add buildings as needed and as we could afford.

It is pretty tone deaf to the taxpayers that are getting screwed from all directions.. and frankly, no relief to come no matter what happens in November.

So now it is up to the voters.. I expect they will get what they want. They wont get my vote.

PS.. Come Nov ballot, they are planning on another referendum to provide your CM the ability to borrow up to 28.5 M without asking the taxpayer. The 28.5M number they are asking for is what the County allows for. The County has a 2 Billion a year budget; NoPo has a 250M ish budget.

[concernedtaxpayer]

Ayep... it is what it is. I guess there are worse places to blow the bucks on.

I really wanted to support and campaign for the new HQs but i also think they went way beyond any sense of reasonableness. It is unfair for today's citizens to pay for the lack of planning in the past AND pay for the growth for the next 40 years. The extra space sounds great in theory. Maybe they should have gone with a campus and add buildings as needed and as we could afford.

It is pretty tone deaf to the taxpayers that are getting screwed from all directions.. and frankly, no relief to come no matter what happens in November.

So now it is up to the voters.. I expect they will get what they want. They wont get my vote.

PS.. Come Nov ballot, they are planning on another referendum to provide your CM the ability to borrow up to 28.5 M without asking the taxpayer. The 28.5M number they are asking for is what the County allows for. The County has a 2 Billion a year budget; NoPo has a 250M ish budget.

It's time to reel in the wasteful spending and carte blanc checkbook. Inflation is at an all time high, groceries and yes taxes are straining our finances. But yet, without any remorse or sympathy for the taxpayers and their families NPPD officials and yes our commissioners are opening up our wallets to again create more taxes and spending. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY ZERO NEED FOR A NEW POLICE HQ. The PD claims its not big enough, no room for evidence etc. As reported by NPPD 70% of their calls are traffic related and out of all those tickets given out and aLL THAT MONEY SPENT ON TRAFFIC UNIT (35+ MILLION DOLLARS, THE CITY GETS NOT ONE DIME FROM THESE TICKETS. GREAT INVESTIMENT THERE. Now the present HQ is centrally located and easily accessible to the taxpayer, if needed. Response time to most places in the city is under 10 mins. The bldg might be dated . In reality there is no need for this at this time, most of us are living paycheck to paycheck, despite what the city states, your tax bill next yr will skyrocket, spending is out of control, but it is clearly apparent the admin is purposely running this bldg down, look at the roof, damaged in IAN and still not repaired, it is a fortress inside. Need more room, the county wants to consolidate communications, plenty of room there, the garage is unneeded, plenty of room there and in the lot for an addition. Now without taxpayer knowledge or approval the city purchased a 4 acre lot on toledo at tropicare, known as the boonies, on the outskirts of the city, why the secrecy and location. The PD commissioned a study from a very friendly source, had the land cleared surveyed and architectural plans all drawn up, who authorized this and paid for this, we did. If it wasn't so stupid of an excuse, the city says well in 50 yrs we will have 650 officers and will need more room, what a pathetic and stupid thing to say. Since the horror of the past police admin the taxpayers have given in to every whim or idea presented by the police admin, traffic ghost cars 35 million and now they removed the ghost marking they paid for, two Harleys, 5 grand stipend per officer last year, generous contract which makes officers eligible to make over 100K per year. and yes the 75 grand Tahoe's. The list goes on. Let us not forget the new sniper tower and the good humor swat like truck 500 gr and and the list goes on. Now that other PDs have a new station NPPD needs to be bigger and better. They rallied there supporters, wives, GF, badge bunnies etc to attend the last meeting to sway the commissioners vote. Most of us are living paycheck to paycheck, we cannot afford higher taxes, this will add $300 or more in taxes to your bill. If we don't support this, no one will quit or fail to respond, we are in a very bad economy and yet the NPPD still wants more. They don't care because they don't live here !!!! Contact your commissioners tell them NO on and new referendums or spending. Its our money, not there's Remember the propose new HQ adds 15 min response time to 41, not taxpayer convenient, but has room for a helicopter and fixed wing aircraft, oops not included in the 122 million, will be back later for these funds. STOP THE FISCAL IRRESPONSIBILITY BEFORE WE GO BANKRUPT again

[concernedtaxpayer]

It's time to reel in the wasteful spending and carte blanc checkbook. Inflation is at an all time high, groceries and yes taxes are straining our finances. But yet, without any remorse or sympathy for the taxpayers and their families NPPD officials and yes our commissioners are opening up our wallets to again create more taxes and spending. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY ZERO NEED FOR A NEW POLICE HQ. The PD claims its not big enough, no room for evidence etc. As reported by NPPD 70% of their calls are traffic related and out of all those tickets given out and aLL THAT MONEY SPENT ON TRAFFIC UNIT (35+ MILLION DOLLARS, THE CITY GETS NOT ONE DIME FROM THESE TICKETS. GREAT INVESTIMENT THERE. Now the present HQ is centrally located and easily accessible to the taxpayer, if needed. Response time to most places in the city is under 10 mins. The bldg might be dated . In reality there is no need for this at this time, most of us are living paycheck to paycheck, despite what the city states, your tax bill next yr will skyrocket, spending is out of control, but it is clearly apparent the admin is purposely running this bldg down, look at the roof, damaged in IAN and still not repaired, it is a fortress inside. Need more room, the county wants to consolidate communications, plenty of room there, the garage is unneeded, plenty of room there and in the lot for an addition. Now without taxpayer knowledge or approval the city purchased a 4 acre lot on toledo at tropicare, known as the boonies, on the outskirts of the city, why the secrecy and location. The PD commissioned a study from a very friendly source, had the land cleared surveyed and architectural plans all drawn up, who authorized this and paid for this, we did. If it wasn't so stupid of an excuse, the city says well in 50 yrs we will have 650 officers and will need more room, what a pathetic and stupid thing to say. Since the horror of the past police admin the taxpayers have given in to every whim or idea presented by the police admin, traffic ghost cars 35 million and now they removed the ghost marking they paid for, two Harleys, 5 grand stipend per officer last year, generous contract which makes officers eligible to make over 100K per year. and yes the 75 grand Tahoe's. The list goes on. Let us not forget the new sniper tower and the good humor swat like truck 500 gr and and the list goes on. Now that other PDs have a new station NPPD needs to be bigger and better. They rallied there supporters, wives, GF, badge bunnies etc to attend the last meeting to sway the commissioners vote. Most of us are living paycheck to paycheck, we cannot afford higher taxes, this will add $300 or more in taxes to your bill. If we don't support this, no one will quit or fail to respond, we are in a very bad economy and yet the NPPD still wants more. They don't care because they don't live here !!!! Contact your commissioners tell them NO on and new referendums or spending. Its our money, not there's Remember the propose new HQ adds 15 min response time to 41, not taxpayer convenient, but has room for a helicopter and fixed wing aircraft, oops not included in the 122 million, will be back later for these funds. STOP THE FISCAL IRRESPONSIBILITY BEFORE WE GO BANKRUPT again

The city commissioners are under pressure to modify or cancel the proposed new police hq. Recently the NPPD posted on their website the so called reasons they believe they need a new HQ. Reason #1 was two separate reviews were commissioned to review the old station and both concluded it would not fit future needs, what they forgot to tell us is they, the NPPD, commissioned there evaluations. Ask yourself does anyone think they hired two separate consultants who would give a negative result, most likely not.
#2 In 2006 when the present station was built there were 139 personal, both sworn and civilian, now there is 206 both sworn and civilian a major increase of what 69 personal, does this justify 122 million dollar station, likely not. The communications, Sarasota County wants to take over all dispatch duties, but NPPD wants there own, this adding more personal to the so-called enlarged workforce. Their speculation as to the population and building up until 2027 is merely just that speculation. This is all smoke and mirrors. Anyone who has raised children know the more you give them, THE MORE THEY WANT, this is just the adult version The NPPD reckless and careless spending of our tax dollars needs to stop. The commissioners need to grow a set and stop this nonsense. Previous commissioners let the NPPD go wild and paid for it at the polls, they are scared of a taxpayer uprising in favor of the PD, this is not the case now. The present station is 19yrs old, hardly as they state dated. They openly admit in their little justification letter they have numerous divisions and personal assigned to them, my question is, back in the day 2012, we had 79 sworn personal, yet each shift had only, if lucky 6 cars out. Today we have many many7 more sworn officers and yet, still only 6-8 marked cars out. It is the admin who openly state POLICE IN MARKED CARS PROVIDE FOR A SAFE COMMUNITY, where are the other 100 or so officers, why do we have more unmarked vehs than marked ? Calls for service, simply put every time an officer makes a traffic stop or an encounter it registers as a call, over 70 percent of the NPPD calls are traffic related, there is no hub of crime here. The NPPD is so confident this measure will pass, they purchased the land outside the main are of the city, 2.7 million dollars and just recently hired a planner at 4 million to begin the process, 6.7 million dollars and they have not even received voter approval. Now they plan to sell their present taxpayer owned building to the city for 7 million dollars, how does one sell a taxpayer owned bldg, back to the taxpayers?? Just curious. This is a shell game, one we as the taxpayers will certainly pay for, conservative estimated have the all said and done price at 150 plus million. The economy is out of control, taxpayers are losing their jobs, retirees are on fixed incomes and the interest rates are out of control, but we are going to stomp our feet and demand this new HQ no matter what its costs us the taxpayers. They do not care what it costs most do not live here and do not pay taxes here. Time to say NO, fix what U have