THERE WAS A meeting last night involving residents of the northwest side and city officials. Residents say there are huge problems in the area, and it's a good thing to bring them to light.
Click here for The Whig's take on the meeting. If you get pay-walled, the story basically reports residents complaining about a variety of issues, from drugs to unruly juveniles to lewd behavior.
One person said the area is neglected because nobody cares what happens on the northwest side. Another said they need more policemen to respond to issues.
More police?
Right. And who pays for more cops? Us, the homeowners, the ones who pay property taxes. In recent years Chief Rob Copley has had to deal with frozen budgets and doing more with less, and that's not going to change.
More cops is not the answer. How about accountability? How about less dirtballs roaming the streets? How about landlords with a clue who give a crap? How about less deadbeat parents?
Setting up a Neighborhood Watch is a good step. Reporting suspicious activity is another.
And using common sense, something sorely lacking these days, would be the best thing of all.
The part I've never understood is when people talk about taking money from other projects to pay for what they want. In this case, the bridge-lighting thing came up. The money for that project is from two sources: A federal tourism grant, and private/business donations. It's not part of the city's general funds.
ReplyDeleteI can't understand why people can't wrap their heads around the fact that the city doesn't run off of one "checkbook" with a big pool of money. They can't just take money from one thing and pay it toward another. Comments like that show that people really have no idea how government - even at the city level - actually works.
Might more cops on the street help? Maybe, but one thing doesn't change: Police are REactive, not PROactive. They can't arrest someone because they MIGHT do something wrong. They still have to wait until a call is made or they are standing right there and see something happen.
Rodney's got it right: neighborhood clean-ups start in the neighborhood. The work isn't done, but it is working on the southwest side of town. Neighbors that care start to push back against the bad elements. The police support that, but they don't drive it.