The Observation Deck

Some of my in laws live on Tampa in Cleveland. This morning an off duty policeman was having breakfast when he heard screams. He took off after the guy who had just stabbed his mother and the guy is now in jail.

While we hope to never need to have a policman living on our street it is nice to see how valuable they are when we are having problems. I see that Councilman Fitzgerald wants to incorporate incentives to have Lakewood Safety forces live in Lakewood. I was wondering if the other two candidates would support this.

Yikes! My best friend in elementary/high school lived on Tampa.

Sure, it's a nice thing to have a police officer as a neighbor, I guess, but there's certainly no guarantees to extra safety/protection. IMO, I think it was just a case of being at the right place at the right time. I would also like to think that it could've been any ordinary citizen (at least one that cares about other people) that would have stepped in.

I thought I heard that West Park is one of the safest cities due to so many police living there??? I would vote for that!! If nothing else it would deter drug dealers moving in next door!

When I lived in Cleveland Heights the policemen would bring their squad car home and park it on the street. we lived on a residential street with a lot of kids playing in the yards and had no problems with speeders, loud noise,etc.

When I lived in Cleveland Heights the policemen would bring their squad car home and park it on the street. we lived on a residential street with a lot of kids playing in the yards and had no problems with speeders, loud noise,etc.

Speaking of Cleveland Heights...The other night I was listening to the scanner and about three AM the dispatcher called for cars to go to Summit Avenue near Lincoln Elementary School for a possible car thief. It turns out that a Cleveland Heights cop lives in Lakewood and helped direct the Lakewood officers to find two of the culprits.

Maybe Lakewood is not such a bad place to live. Incentives would mean renegotiating a police contract that Mr. Fitzgerald voted for. It seems to me that additional incentives would cost the city more money. Where is the fiscal responsibility?

Residency incentives usually take the form of placement on the Civil Service list (combination of written and physical test scores) veteran's points and then residency incentives would be added in.

That's how it's done in a lot of cities. I know this from work I did a long time ago doing comparisons of civiil service scores for many job categories on a municipal basis.

sharon--- Extra points are awarded for Lakewood residency on the civil service applications and exams. This was done in the last year and a half as a result of the George administration.

And, Lakewood is a community of choice for first responders from other cities. It would seem that from what I can tell, and this is just a brief survey, but those who work in a city like to live with a little more acreage and it really has nothing to do with being supportive of the city you work in.

I do know, anecdotal, that several cops have chosen Lakewood because of excellent housing values and a simple desire to get away from work for their off hours.



Stan Austin

Stan Austin wrote:This was done in the last year and a half as a result of the George administration.

Stan, the Mayor did sign into law our Council-led effort to increase the residency points awarded to civil service applicants, from which I take nothing away, but to attribute the idea to his administration would be misleading. I'd like to give credit where it's due, and this one was Council's baby. Members of the law department did appear in our drafting meetings, which of course was commendable.

I suppose you're wearing your mayor's-campaign hat with this post, not your Observer-reporter hat, as you like to say. That's OK with me, just as long as the record remains clear.

Stan - I was just saying that residency incentives would not cost anything.

I was not bashing anyone - when I am, you'll know it.

Sharon,

I have agreed with you for two whole days in a row. This must be some kind of record.

I told you when I agreed with you I would say it loud and proud.

You go girl.

Colleen

Support is always appreciated - thank you.