Dear Editor, Tuesday night an issue was presented to the commission raising questions and concerns involving the Cedar Key Police Department. A petition was presented stating problems with the budget being too high and police performance inconsistent with the funds allocated. However, comments at the meeting seemed to have more to do with the police doing too much work and not enough "looking the other way," resulting in a drop in tourism.
First I'd like to say that since we have increased the police budget we have seen more enforcement. It seems like the two would go hand in hand and that people should expect this to happen. Personally I am pleased to see it. I sleep much better without the loud car stereos booming by my house at 2:00 a.m. It is also a welcome sight to see more people driving the speed limit in town and I feel much safer riding a bike around town knowing that fewer people are willing to risk driving drunk. At the meeting Tuesday night Police Chief Dan Swogger tried to explain the budget issues. It was difficult to hear him speak, however, because some people think that their opinion is the only one that matters and they felt it necessary to make rude comments while he was talking.
The budget actually didn't seem to be the main complaint during the meeting, though. Several business owners claim that tourism is down in Cedar Key because the police are writing too many tickets. Jimmy "Frog" Statham even informed us that in six months we would have no more tourists in this town because of the police department. Last month 51 warnings and 41 tickets were issued. More warnings than tickets? That doesn't sound like the "scary, vicious, overbearing officers" I've heard so much about. When you break it down you realize it's really not that bad at all. Only 1.4 tickets a day in the month of November. That is not too many! I see more than 1.4 people speeding, running stop signs, squealing tires and playing their music way too loud every day.
It is absurd to say that tourism is going to be a thing of the past in Cedar Key because the police are writing too many tickets. Especially when one considers the numbers I mentioned above. It is also ridiculous to suggest cutting the budget because you don't like the fact that the laws are being enforced. I have been trying to put this all into perspective so I made a list of the suggestions I heard Tuesday night. Am I understanding these people correctly? Do they really want to: -Cut the police budget.
-Get rid of one or more officers because we supposedly don't need so many.
-Extend their hours (while not paying overtime).
-Have police stop writing tickets. (Only give verbal warnings on traffic stops after the driver has been properly welcomed to our wonderful town.)
-Use the money saved from cutting the budget to buy a street sweeper? I perceive these complainers to be completely unreasonable, and it has been my experience with unreasonable people that they are too close-minded to try to reason with. They just don't listen to anybody else's point of view. This was
evident Tuesday night every time the chief or Ms. Nancy Taylor tried to say anything. Instead of quietly and politely listening to what someone else had to say, some members of the audience felt it was necessary to rudely interrupt with sighs, laughter and comments like "oh, whatever" and even "that's a bunch of bull" when the chief was trying to explain that he could not tell his officers to stop enforcing state laws. I urge Cedar Key citizens and visitors to consider the real reasons behind these complaints. The next time you see one of our officers tell them you appreciate their efforts to make our streets safer. Jenny McCain | 