Huber Ridge Area

I have an answer for where our tax dollars go. At the q&a Wed, Trustee Ward bragged about each officer having his own cruiser. When two officers shared a cruiser they did not know which officer was responsible for damage to the cruiser so instead of expecting the truth from our officers we reward them with a piece of equipment that costs thousands of dollars and sits empty 60% of the time just so we will know who had an accident - and our board bought this justification!We could have leaf pickup with the money spent on extra cruisers. Unbelievable.

I'm not sure if it's still true.

I'm not sure it it's still true but about a year ago there was a car lot of cruisers behind the police station. Many more than was needed - I've written insurance policies for police depts and the cost per cruiser is not cheap yet alone the upkeep.

By Resident

THE SOLUTION

WE HAVE A VOICE AND A CHOICE, USE IT AND VOTE THIS YEAR. IT IS INEVITABLE, WE NEED CHANGE. IF NOT NOW THEN WHEN? A FRESH PERSPECTIVE, SOMEONE WITH DRIVE AND AMBITION WHO WANTS TO SEE THIS COMMUNITY GROW. NOT ONE WHO IS HAPPY TO SEE OUR TOWNSHIP JUST EXIST. I HOPE TO SEE A GREAT TURN OUT THIS NOVEMBER, A STRONG VOICE OF THE COMMUNITY.

By REGISTERED VOTER

Your Tax Dollars at Work

The cruisers that sit idle when not in use lasts almost three times as long. It was not my intention to imply that we do not have honest police officers. On the contrary, their honesty is beyond question. However, as the Ohio State Highway Patrol had determined years ago, when the officers are assigned their own cruisers they take care of them as if they were their own. Maintenance costs are greatly reduced and the need to purchase new cruisers is less frequent. This also increases the level of ''quality of worklife'' for our officers who personalize their cruisers to help them attain their best level of performance. All this translates into increased savings and performance for our citizen/tax payers. I also stated that the money from traffic fines is placed into an equipment fund and the cruisers are purchased from that fund. Again, a savings to our citizen/tax payers since there is no need to increase the police levy to pay for the cruisers. The Board was unanimous on assigning the cruisers to each officer.
Leaf pick-up has been considered by the Board of Trustees at least three times during my tenure. Each time it was determined that the contractractual cost would have to be passed on to the citizen/tax payer. The Board, each time, rejected the idea due to costs and a lack of endorsement by our citizens. My position has always been to initiate and/or support those programs that are demanded by our citizens and are fiscally feasable. If the Board chose to spend the traffic fine money on the leaf pick-up, then the costs of the cruisers and other police equipment could affect the police levy. As I have stated before, a trustee should be a good stewart of the funds entrusted to us. Working within a limited budget, as we must, is complex and difficult. I welcome your comments and ideas. Remember, the Board of Trustees meets every other wednesday night at 6:30PM at the Senior Center. All are welcome.

By Jerry L. Ward-Trustee