#1 2008-11-15 23:10:32
Wareham, relatively poor and surrounded by a sea of affluence, receives a lot more in state and federal aid than it pays out in tax revenue. That money funnels through the Board of Selectmen (BOS), as long as they control the departments earmarked for the aid.
That's what this fight is about. Money. Big bucks. So far, most Wareham town departments - most notably Public Works - have caved to the pressure.
The one glaring exception is the Police Department, bless their honest hearts. That's why they've taken the heat and that's why they haven't a prayer of improving their circumstances in a police station that was inadequate before its completion in 1973.
Photo Essay: Wareham Police Station
How does it make any sense for a resort community like ours to rely on cranky, under paid and overworked cops to manage our human refuse? Think about your idiot cousin, or your substance abusing brother-in-law repeatedly popped for DWI who ALWAYS manges to call you in the wee hours to bail him out of Wareham's tiny holding cells. Think about your wife and kids, or you, yourself, when you're late for work, stopped for speeding. Do you really want to face a pissed off cop?
It's one of life's enduring mysteries that Wareham still manages to attract and hire good police. Count your blessings, people.
Last edited by billw (2008-11-16 03:18:35)
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#2 2008-11-16 13:00:04
i heard that the selectmen thought their budget was too big several years ago so they paid for an independant study. when the study came back and said they are 15- 20 guys short and have the same statistical production and crime rates as brockton.
and what did they do nothing. not only nothing they took the biggest hit a year and a half ago in the last financial crisis. so to thank these officers for all their hard and unrewarding work what do the selectmen do they solicite complaints and make defaming remarks about situations they know nothing about.
ask tommy how many of his cops are jumping ship because the town keeps screwing with them
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#3 2008-11-17 18:42:53
In their deranged warped and twisted mind, the BOS want Officer's to leave. That way, they can continue to build on their "biased" notion that the Chief is a bad manager. "See we told you, even his own men are leaving."
Talk to any Officer (that wasn't involved in questionable actions in the past) and they will tell you that it's not the Chief that's the problem, but the Town and the BOS.
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