Another City Service...Gone

[Lori Allen _]

It has come to my attention that the police will no longer help motorists that lock their keys in their car unless a kid or animal is in the car, or the engine is running. They just helped me about a year ago and they had all of the tools to do it.

The question is: who approved this change in policy? My guess is Summers. He is the Public Safety Director, so I would think he has the final say in this.

The mayor always boasts that we have close to 100 cops. I find this very hard to believe, as we only seem to have four to six on duty each shift. There are not enough of them, they are overworked and response times are waning. What's next? Outsourcing the police?

There you have it. Another city service gone. Water bills are increasing, City Hall is assessing citizens for some water projects, property taxes will soon increase, and we still can't hire enough cops and city employees to provide services.

I suspect that Summers will jump ship as soon as the "deal" with "CCF & Company" is finalized. As he's on his way out, he can say "chaos, commotion, my job here is done!" More than one person has told me that Summers will not finish his term.

I say we outsource Lord & Company...to China!

[Jim O'Bryan]

It has come to my attention that the police will no longer help motorists that lock their keys in their car unless a kid or animal is in the car, or the engine is running. They just helped me about a year ago and they had all of the tools to do it.

The question is: who approved this change in policy? My guess is Summers. He is the Public Safety Director, so I would think he has the final say in this.

Lori


That has been the rule of thumb as long as I remember. From there it depends on how busy the police are.

While they have the tools to do it, I think you would agree it is not always a police matter, that we all pay for.

.

[Lori Allen _]

I would disagree with this. I called around to some neighbor suburbs and these suburbs do it:

- Parma Heights
- Rocky River
- Bay Village
- Westlake
- North Olmsted
- Fairview Park
- North Ridgeville
- Elyria
- Shaker Heights
- Beachwood
- Pepper Pike
- Macedonia
- Nortfield Village
- Valley View
- Brooklyn Heights
- Cuyahoga Heights
- Brecksville
- Broadview Heights
- North Royalton
- Berea
- Strongsville
- Oakwood Village
- Walton Hills
- Bedford
- Independence

Heck, even Garfield Heights, Maple Heights, Warrensville Heights, and North Randall do it, with all of their problems.

So, what is Lakewood's excuse? I pay the sixth highest property taxes in the entire county. Most of the suburbs on this list have lower taxes than Lakewood.

I have called for help under previous administrations. I was not told "we don't do that, you have to call a locksmith".

Would they tell Ken Haber, Jay Foran, or any of the mayor's friends north of the William-Sonoma line to "call a locksmith"? I think not.

[Missy Limkemann]

I feel bad for people who lock their keys in the car...I figured out the problem, I just took off my doors.