News came yesterday that the federal government will be paying for ten of our police officers for the next three years. Nevertheless, Peoria will still be losing three officers, as 13 positions were cut from the 2011 budget. Peoria can’t afford them because it’s too busy spending its money on civic centers, hotels, risky start-up businesses, and other non-essential, losing propositions, as well as giving away its assets to other tax-collecting public bodies.
The good news is that Peoria will get to keep 10 of its police officers who would otherwise get cut. The bad news is that the entire nation is now paying for the City’s poor fiscal management. What’s another $2.7 million to the federal government? They’re only in debt by $13.8 trillion or so. Big whoop.
That grant should have been used to hire new officers, not retain current ones. Our City leaders should be responsible with taxpayer dollars and use them in the way they were intended- basic services. I’m glad not to lose 10 officers, but crime recent crime reports indicate that more cops are needed.
http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/80222/tom-coburn-adds-to-government-waste
http://coburn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?a=Files.Serve&File_id=774a6cca-18fa-4619-987b-a15eb44e7f18
Maybe Peoria will make next year’s Waste Book?
crime stats have risen significantly, and those are the ones that the police are involved. It would appear that the current level of police coverage is not adequate to address the crime issue, so by keeping the current 10 officers we are only slowing the growth of crime. We keep addressing symptoms, not attacking the disease. Disease is a poor choice as it somehow might imply a lack of choice. One can always choose not to commit the crime in the first place. One can choose to get a job, even it is not in the desired pay range. One can choose to pick up trash in the yard, one can choose to not have additional children one can’t afford to raise, one can chose to be involved in your children’s care, schooling, free time. and on and on. Legislating personal responsibility is difficult because people believe what they want is actually a right and not a want. Many “rights” people believe they have are not espoused in the Constitution.
Feds?? Who are they? Oh, you mean the people who take and use OUR money? They gave some back??
Whose name is on that money, whose image?