Sacramento circling the drain

[David]

Press release from today:


From: SPD PIO [mailto:pio@pd.cityofsacramento.org]
Sent: Wednesday, June 08, 2011 11:11 AM
To: Leong, Norm
Subject: Sacramento Police Prepare for Extreme Budget Cuts

With the City Council decision to cut $12.2 million dollars from the Police Department’s budget we now prepare to transform the way we police in Sacramento.

The impact of four years of police budget reductions has resulted in $35 million dollars in cuts and a lost 372 positions which includes over 180 sworn. This year alone, we will lose 164 positions (82 sworn, 68 civilians, and 14 vacant sworn). The dollars cut to the police budget translate into service reductions to include the following:

Elimination- Narcotics Unit
Elimination- Gang Unit
Elimination- Traffic Teams
Elimination- Problem Oriented Policing Teams
Elimination- Magnet School Program
Elimination- Community Service Officers
Elimination- Bike Unit
Elimination- Mounted Unit
Elimination- Marine Unit
Elimination- Foot Beat Officers
Elimination- High-Tech Crimes Unit
Elimination- Auto Theft Investigations Unit
Elimination- Parolee Intervention Team
Transformation- SWAT to part time teams
Transformation- Crime Scene Investigators to sworn officers

In the next three weeks, the Department will be shifting the way we police to primarily handle emergency calls and investigate major crimes. More details on what the service impacts means for the community will be forthcoming in the next few weeks. “Although we will no longer be able to provide the level of service, we are committed to continuing to provide quality service when we do respond , ” said Chief Rick Braziel.

And this happening as the city is planning to built a new arena with an estimated price tag of $350,000,000. And The Maloofs still owe the city $77,000,000. :hitwall:

[Vinnie]

As much as I hate all the squabbling over the whole Arena deal, and the Maloof racket altogether, you can't really use that as the same argument. The logic of a real arena, as poorly timed as it may be, is that more events will be booked for said arena, and bigger acts, and will be a ridiculous money maker for the City, and for all the businesses that invest and pop up around it.

Still a bit confused as to why the teachers, cops, and firefighters are always the first to get axed, though. Guess it makes more of a statement to justify more taxes than firing a bunch of bureaucrats with redundant responsibilities and paychecks that quadruple those of the bottom-feeder "public servants."

Government gets too big, becomes unsustainable, and starts eating itself from the bottom up. Biologically speaking, kinda sounds like a fungus!

[AyatollahGondola]

As much as I hate all the squabbling over the whole Arena deal, and the Maloof racket altogether, you can't really use that as the same argument. The logic of a real arena, as poorly timed as it may be, is that more events will be booked for said arena, and bigger acts, and will be a ridiculous money maker for the City, and for all the businesses that invest and pop up around it.

Still a bit confused as to why the teachers, cops, and firefighters are always the first to get axed, though. Guess it makes more of a statement to justify more taxes than firing a bunch of bureaucrats with redundant responsibilities and paychecks that quadruple those of the bottom-feeder "public servants."

Government gets too big, becomes unsustainable, and starts eating itself from the bottom up. Biologically speaking, kinda sounds like a fungus!
Sure it's the same argument. The problem with this arena is that the end result will be more money for politicians to use handing out to their special interest projects, and solidifying their hold on office. The police, fire, probation departments etc, will still end up the hostage. Arena money goes into the big slush fund. If you dedicated all the money from the arena tax income to just fire, police, and other basic needs, the only people trying to stop the arena would be the politicians themselves

[Vinnie]

OK, you kinda have a point, but isn't some money better than no money?

[AyatollahGondola]

OK, you kinda have a point, but isn't some money better than no money?

You'd think so, but money in the hands of wreckless spenders is often used against those who pay it. We've tried restricting them by initiative to restrict spending, prop 187 for example, but the courts overruled it, and said as long as we have money, it should be spent on everyone. Now look what we got. We're overrun with people for politicians to spend on, and they have basically said that the priorities are not citizens, not necessarily taxpayers, and not even necessarily need to be present legally. California is poised to spend even more on the DREAM act, yet we're beyond broke. Sacramento is one of those cities that voted to boycott AZ for their SB1076. They obviously have plenty of money to spend, if they can criticize a whole state for trying reign in their spending.
I don't see another way around this. Starve them out, and I know I'm going to starve too. But I'd rather go down starving and fighting than quietly in a corner as my own needs are strangled by corruption.

[23112]

Bringing it back to the human element: this will be a very hard hit for a lot of men and women who are/were a part of Sac PD, and it will undoubtedly harm the local citizens. This is astonishing!

[Vinnie]

So if we've learned anything, AG, it is that the reckless spending still doesn't stop in this manufactured Utopia, even when there is no money to spend!

Hey all you reckless spenders- have fun with your Utpoia when there are no enforcers left to keep it shiny and clean for you!

[David]

Bringing it back to the human element: this will be a very hard hit for a lot of men and women who are/were a part of Sac PD, and it will undoubtedly harm the local citizens. This is astonishing! It's not just police. Due to the budget problems, the Sacramento Fire Department has been doing rotating brownouts. It looks like the number of stations on brownout at any given time is going to be increased from 2 to 6. :doubt:

[AyatollahGondola]

Bringing it back to the human element: this will be a very hard hit for a lot of men and women who are/were a part of Sac PD, and it will undoubtedly harm the local citizens. This is astonishing!
That they would use these people as hostages is reprehensible. But that's the type of mindset they have. Hopefully the laid off/fired will remember them during the next voting cycle. Hopefully they won't substitute stubborn people like me for the real culprits.

[AyatollahGondola]

So if we've learned anything, AG, it is that the reckless spending still doesn't stop in this manufactured Utopia, even when there is no money to spend!

Hey all you reckless spenders- have fun with your Utpoia when there are no enforcers left to keep it shiny and clean for you!
There comes a point when you can no longer borrow. When you have to live only on what you have coming in. The lenders that have been floating the state have the income so leveraged right now, that the state only has discretionary funds in what they don't pay them. The first two things getting paid in California, by law, are the bonds and the schools. Now you see why they cut schools and why the teachers union is so active in lobbying for new tax extensions. The bond holders have the state by the throat. The state isn't going to be able to borrow, so they now have to beg and steal only. We're upon a different paradigm now. the spenders cannot just toss it on our backs, so they have to cannibalize within their own betheren. Of course they will try to pick the ones that we will miss the most, but I'm banking on that backfiring on them this time. Look for them to point their fingers at the taxpayers each time some catastrophe happens. It's going to be tough for sure. But let's face it; Law enforcement has been their expendable stepchild for decades. They send out LEO's to just keep getting by, sacrifice them when there's trouble, and support them only when they really need an ally. If they spent the money that was really needed to combat crime, we'd be on easy street like the bond lenders. I haven't seen crime drop anywhere they've been building new sports arenas

[Murakoshi]

Irony here is that bringing in the new arena to bring in more shows, games, etc... Would it not then require more police and security deployment for these events?

[AyatollahGondola]

Irony here is that bringing in the new arena to bring in more shows, games, etc... Would it not then require more police and security deployment for these events?
Today I watched a total waste of police talent by the Sac PD and the City of Sac. They deployed at least two units to shut down a main thoroughfare on Capitol ave so there could be another farmers market. There were two farmers markets in the past two consecutive days already downtown...those at least in areas that don't require shutting down the street, and only a handful of blocks away. I walked by this one unit twice in an hour, officer just sitting there with lights on, for this ridiculously located event. This went on for several hours.The city council has little sense when it comes to priorities. Neither does this resemble cutting to the bone.