COMMENTARY: by Concerned Citizens of Alexander
Are you aware City of Alexander Mayor Michelle Hobbs is pushing through a debt we
haven’t seen in years to supply the police force with all new cars? After packing the council with her
“cookie-cutter – yes people” they voted for the plan.
And that's adding to a $350,000 loan from
the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that is still not paid off. That loan includes our two newest police
cars. We are paying over $2,000 per
month for that loan and now they are adding over $3,500 to that.
A copy of the U.S.D.A. note can be obtained
by any citizen through the Freedom of Information Act. Just search online for an FOIA form and
instructions. They are required to
answer within three (3) days, by both Federal and Arkansas law.
Did you know all City of Alexander police officers
use police cars as their personal vehicles?
You can obtain a copy of the “Fleet gas bill” showing when and where
each vehicle is refueled each month. See procedure underlined above.
So, why do we need seven new police cars? Apparently becoming a City of Alexander
police officer entitles you to a car to take home, no matter where you live. Even though police cars are built for more
extreme use than your average family car, what they are put through is still
brutal. Adding the additional mileage of
personal use, or even just driving to and from an officer's home outside of
Alexander, is just added unnecessary wear-and-tear.
As a point of interest; if you've ever
wondered why you see Pulaski County Sheriff cars parked at city hall it's
because they are not allowed to take them home if they live outside the
county. If it's good enough for the
county, why not us?
Granted, we do need new vehicles; perhaps a total fleet of four. Since we generally have no more than two officers per shift they can each drive one car while the other two cool off from the previous shift. HOWEVER, we need to get the previous ones paid for and we need to limit vehicle use to shift duty only. That will instantly take the strain off our aging misused fleet.
Shouldn't take too much 'cooling off' they are never seen around town patroling.
ReplyDeleteFor the life of me, I have never seen ANY responsible entity, that makes decisions on the spur of the moment, with no discussion and no policy to establish rules, regulations and limits thike this town does.
ReplyDeleteIRRESPONSIBLE is completely inadequate. But, then again, look at who they each work with.
thats 'like' not thike - ooops
DeleteLouella you are correct , from what I hear from friends who live there, one X policeman was told at night , stay in office and wait for phone, , so maybe the men get to sleep and get paid? Wow !!
ReplyDeleteTO GET IT DONE: 'Staying in the office' was in the minutes last year, a statement by chief walters after the front window got shot up.
ReplyDelete