Dear Mayor,
I wish to offer my support for the Graymoor-Devondale Police Department.
I read the article in the newsletter regarding comments about the police
budget.
It is my belief that either ''downsizing'' or even ''eliminating'' the
Graymoor-Devondale Police Dept would be very harmful to our city. I have
lived in this city since 1963, and since the inception of the
Graymoor-Devondale police, I have seen the crime rate DROP in this city in
the past several years. Our police department based on today's economic
conditions places a heavy workload on our force, and I feel very strongly
that any negative changes will have adverse effects on our city. In my
honest opinion, I feel we need MORE police officers on the force to
protect our city. But, however, I know the residents would love to have more policemen, but unfortunately, our budget will not allow for it. I'm
very pleased with the city's budget process, and am very relieved that the
police force has not been cut or downsized, and is being subsidized properly.
I believe that that police budget is fair, honest, and the best we can do
for our tax dollars received for the city.
I wish to offer 3 examples of my strong support for the city police
dept:
1) May 31, 2004. When the city had severe storm damage, and trees were
blown all over the road. I went to the corner of Westport and Applewood
Ln, and seen our police dept already in action securing our neighborhood. I
also witnessed SEVERAL times during the nighttime morning hours our police
dept going up and down Applewood Ln, and actually shining the spot lights on
houses looking for possible looters, and checking for personal injuries.
2) March 2005. My neighbor who lives diagonally from my home was having
problems during the nighttime early morning hours with noises coming
from outside her home. She notified our police dept, and called me that
night to discuss what the noise could possibly be. At 3:00 AM, I woke up to take care of some personal business, and I looked outside my window, and saw OUR police dept vehicle parked across from my home with the officer keeping an eye on my neighbor's house looking for signs of problems. Now THAT is what I call XCELLENT policing!
3) My neighbor goes out of town a lot and calls in a house-watch. I have
seen our officers on each visit get OUT of the car and make a FULL round on
the home to ensure no usual activity has happened. This gives me a good
feeling to know that our officers care about our homes as well.
Can you receive the SAME service from the items above from Louisville Metro Police Dept. ??? Certainly NOT in my opinion, and I feel Louisville Metro
Police does a fairly decent job too.
I am also a strong supporter for Chief Joe Renzi. He's been with our dept
for years, and I have met him a couple of times, and a few officers from the
past, and each time, I was treated like a real person. I asked for
advice, security check of the home, vacation house-watches, and have always received well educated thoughtful advice from either Chief Renzi or the Officers.
In closing, I would certainly be very disappointed if any negative actions
were taken to change the status quo of our police dept. I am very glad
to read that you do not plan on any negative changes. These officers work
very hard in the job they do, I feel they take their profession and job very
seriously. I always wave at them when they pass by, and yes, they wave
back too!
I would also say that while I'm not a big fan of raising taxes, I would certainly pay more to keep our police dept in our wonderful city.
It's a shame that we have a few residents complaining about the police
dept.
My feeling is, if they can't afford to pay the city taxes to support all the
services, MOVE somewhere else and leave our great city and police dept
alone!
By William ''Bill'' M. Mader Jr.
I wish to offer my support for the Graymoor-Devondale Police Department.
I read the article in the newsletter regarding comments about the police
budget.
It is my belief that either ''downsizing'' or even ''eliminating'' the
Graymoor-Devondale Police Dept would be very harmful to our city. I have
lived in this city since 1963, and since the inception of the
Graymoor-Devondale police, I have seen the crime rate DROP in this city in
the past several years. Our police department based on today's economic
conditions places a heavy workload on our force, and I feel very strongly
that any negative changes will have adverse effects on our city. In my
honest opinion, I feel we need MORE police officers on the force to
protect our city. But, however, I know the residents would love to have more policemen, but unfortunately, our budget will not allow for it. I'm
very pleased with the city's budget process, and am very relieved that the
police force has not been cut or downsized, and is being subsidized properly.
I believe that that police budget is fair, honest, and the best we can do
for our tax dollars received for the city.
I wish to offer 3 examples of my strong support for the city police
dept:
1) May 31, 2004. When the city had severe storm damage, and trees were
blown all over the road. I went to the corner of Westport and Applewood
Ln, and seen our police dept already in action securing our neighborhood. I
also witnessed SEVERAL times during the nighttime morning hours our police
dept going up and down Applewood Ln, and actually shining the spot lights on
houses looking for possible looters, and checking for personal injuries.
2) March 2005. My neighbor who lives diagonally from my home was having
problems during the nighttime early morning hours with noises coming
from outside her home. She notified our police dept, and called me that
night to discuss what the noise could possibly be. At 3:00 AM, I woke up to take care of some personal business, and I looked outside my window, and saw OUR police dept vehicle parked across from my home with the officer keeping an eye on my neighbor's house looking for signs of problems. Now THAT is what I call XCELLENT policing!
3) My neighbor goes out of town a lot and calls in a house-watch. I have
seen our officers on each visit get OUT of the car and make a FULL round on
the home to ensure no usual activity has happened. This gives me a good
feeling to know that our officers care about our homes as well.
Can you receive the SAME service from the items above from Louisville Metro Police Dept. ??? Certainly NOT in my opinion, and I feel Louisville Metro
Police does a fairly decent job too.
I am also a strong supporter for Chief Joe Renzi. He's been with our dept
for years, and I have met him a couple of times, and a few officers from the
past, and each time, I was treated like a real person. I asked for
advice, security check of the home, vacation house-watches, and have always received well educated thoughtful advice from either Chief Renzi or the Officers.
In closing, I would certainly be very disappointed if any negative actions
were taken to change the status quo of our police dept. I am very glad
to read that you do not plan on any negative changes. These officers work
very hard in the job they do, I feel they take their profession and job very
seriously. I always wave at them when they pass by, and yes, they wave
back too!
I would also say that while I'm not a big fan of raising taxes, I would certainly pay more to keep our police dept in our wonderful city.
It's a shame that we have a few residents complaining about the police
dept.
My feeling is, if they can't afford to pay the city taxes to support all the
services, MOVE somewhere else and leave our great city and police dept
alone!
By William ''Bill'' M. Mader Jr.
