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Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013 | 2:02 a.m.
A crisis exists in Las Vegas! And a crisis unresolved brings horrendous negative consequences. Last week, our capable Sheriff Doug Gillespie in a meeting with the Sun’s editorial board sounded the clarion call. He said crime in Las Vegas increased 9 percent last year — notably assaults and property crimes. Further, Metro Police is understaffed by more than 250 police officers. Gillespie said: “More cops is my priority. We need to get that funding.” The funding Gillespie refers to is the department’s modest request for a quarter-cent sales tax raise to hire more police. I contend it should be at ...
More taxes and more cops = less crime? you need the courts staffed properly then ... Funds are wasted by mismanagement, lawsuits for Metro misbehavior, paid leave for bad apples, etc.
Get this straight Gillespie; from this citizen, you get nothing until you bring your contingent of officers into a respectable group of true public servants.
And to even begin to do this, you must decertify the police officers union and then have your officers face due process for criminal and or actions of misconduct. You do what's right Gillespie for our community, as a whole, then we'll talk about paying increased taxes for more officers.
"No sense dumping a new pile of ripe apples into an already open barrel of noxious fumes".
>B. Chapline<
Sounds like a win-win for all Nevadans. Sign me up.
CarmineD
Here we go again. More taxes advocated by the tax & spend crowd. I am in favor of seeing that Metro has the funds needed to ensure the safety of Clark County citizens, but there has to be a limit as to high taxes go. To increase the funding for Metro, funding must be cut elsewhere. No one can seriously say there is no waste in government. Find it, cut it, and transfer those funds to Metro. If there is not enough waste, then some other program(s) must be cut. Until the economy grows and revenues along with it, that's the way the ball bounces. Someone put it aptly: "Want to live forever? Become a government program."
Enough of the painting taxpayers into corners. Any and all funding must NOT be allocated to a particular use even law enforcement. The City, County, Metro in toto need to deal with OVERCOMPENSATION of most to all employees. The 10% cut that everyone else has taken, when applied throughout government, would free up multi-millions for the ESSENTIAL SERVICES that we are not receiving.
Prior to increasing our taxes, let's see the current budget breakdown and see where our current tax money is spent. Perhaps the money is being squandered somewhere else, and is available in that manner. Is there a detailed budget for 2013 in print anywhere?
Vegas is one of the most violent, corrupt places in the United States. Murders, assaults, domestic violence are an everyday occurrence. In addition we have an endless array of financial fraud, real estate fraud, medical fraud and everything in between.
I was a policeman for decades in the LA area. I can't even imagine what it has to be like to work in this town. I don't know how much money Metro makes. It ain't enough.
We need more police and specialized investigators to deal with healthcare corruption and the financial issues that crop up every day in the newspaper. The city is again growing and if we want to continue the trend we have to improve quality of living metrics.
We are close to rock-bottom in almost every single important category.
http://247wallst.com/2010/08/31/the-stat...
Nevada ranks dead last in terms of per capita expenditures on government services and man does it show.
Alaska spends almost 3 times what we spent per capita and we have to deal with close to 40 million tourists a year in addition to caring for the people that live here.
So, Mr. Dinkins would be perfectly happy with a sales tax of 9.1%? What a crock. Who gets jammed by this sales tax increase? The usual folks: working poor and retired people. Note to Clyde: I don't live in any of the locales you mention as approving your beloved tax increase Gillespie suggests. North LV is fiscally broke, so of course they would support it. Mayor Goodman? Who cares what she says, since it's her old man pulling the puppet strings. And on and on. Just like the CCSD, the cops never stop begging for more dough, out of the taxpayer's wallet. Put this crock increase tax request on the BALLOT, and see how far it gets.
Re Gerry Hageman. Alaska? Really? The place where you have one state trooper to enforce law over a bazillion square miles of territory? If Alaska spends 3 times what we spend here, the troopers DESERVE EVERY PENNY OF WHAT THEY GET PAID.
Re Gerry Hageman #2: "Nevada ranks dead last in terms of per capita expenditures on government services...". Is that an epiphany? We've sucked in every conceivable category for decades. The GOP bullsh*t mantra of no taxes nohow is the primary driver here. I don't like taxes in general, but I would support some increases if they actually addressed the problems facing this state. I refuse to support sh*t proposals like the Water District's "water grab" from rural counties, now estimated in the billions of dollars to achieve. Just an example of money NOT WELL SPENT.
While I'm on a roll, how about we float some Muni Bonds to fund some of this stuff, instead of raising taxes. Investors would be happy to support worthwhile projects, with the promise of a return on their investment. Enough with this tax tax and more tax mindset. And this from a DEMOCRAT, who also would consider investing.
The concerns is when do Metro ever stop with the tax increases? Also does the money actually go to the aim or do they use accounting tricks to come up with adding more officers.
The other concern is the lack of due diligence over the Desert Sky contract.
I think if you look at their average compenstaion package, you'll find they're paid well above the CC average -- and have a retirment plan that is also better than the CC average. With retention & recruitment at acceptable levels, rather than collect more taxpayer money they should look at freezing pay and revising benefits to re-allocate money from the existing officers to additional officers. Consider that first, then ask for more taxpayer dollars.
http://www.governing.com/gov-data/safety...
Regarding Mr. Lind's 1452 comment. Anchorage is near the top of the list in terms of per capita law enforcement presence. Las Vegas and North Las Vegas closer to the bottom of major US cities. There is probably more crime in Las Vegas in a busy week than the entire state of Alaska in a year.