A few people in this country think that we have too many police, too many prisons and too much military, but other than keeping its citizens safe, what is the main purpose of our government?
Currently on the table in Saratoga Springs are proposed budget cuts
that could directly impact the safety of its citizens. It looks as
though the Public Safety Department has been asked to take a big hit
and reduce its budget by $1.3 million. As of Wednesday the plan was to
eliminate 18 officers and 1 sergeant in the police department and 14
local firefighters from the fire department.
Not good.
As I have written in the past we are only a few bad decisions away from living in an environment similar to one of our close neighbors (name withheld to protect their anonymity, but it rhymes with flenenectady).
Crunching numbers on a budget spreadsheet is one thing, but realizing that it means less officers on the streets, slower response time, and possible loss of life or property is another. Saratoga Springs continues to grow and our needs will continue to grow. Designs for a new and improved city center were just approved. I would have to imagine that this will draw additional people into the city and more people means more resources.
I don't want to have to worry when my family strolls down Broadway, I want to know that there are officers downtown with them. If one of my readers has a house fire, I want to know that the fire department has enough people to effectively handle that situation while possibly dealing with another.
I for one am outraged that we lost our share of the VLT revenues but I don't know what we can do at this point. If there is anything that can be done I say our City Council does it, does it aggressively and reclaims what is ours. If we lose, at least we went down swinging.
Now back to the public safety issue; this is an area we can't compromise. If you want to talk dollars and cents, I will give you a financial reason for my statement. Tourists flock to our little city in the country for many reasons, and one of them is the safe and secure atmosphere of our downtown. Throw in a few stabbings and aggravated assaults and our downtown "charm" will quickly lose its appeal. Do you want to talk lost revenue?
Not good.
As I have written in the past we are only a few bad decisions away from living in an environment similar to one of our close neighbors (name withheld to protect their anonymity, but it rhymes with flenenectady).
Crunching numbers on a budget spreadsheet is one thing, but realizing that it means less officers on the streets, slower response time, and possible loss of life or property is another. Saratoga Springs continues to grow and our needs will continue to grow. Designs for a new and improved city center were just approved. I would have to imagine that this will draw additional people into the city and more people means more resources.
I don't want to have to worry when my family strolls down Broadway, I want to know that there are officers downtown with them. If one of my readers has a house fire, I want to know that the fire department has enough people to effectively handle that situation while possibly dealing with another.
I for one am outraged that we lost our share of the VLT revenues but I don't know what we can do at this point. If there is anything that can be done I say our City Council does it, does it aggressively and reclaims what is ours. If we lose, at least we went down swinging.
Now back to the public safety issue; this is an area we can't compromise. If you want to talk dollars and cents, I will give you a financial reason for my statement. Tourists flock to our little city in the country for many reasons, and one of them is the safe and secure atmosphere of our downtown. Throw in a few stabbings and aggravated assaults and our downtown "charm" will quickly lose its appeal. Do you want to talk lost revenue?
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