Laserfiche WebLink
Regular City Council Meeting <br />Monday, October 10, 2016 <br />Page 35 <br />Dick Houck, 1131 Roselawn Avenue <br />Mr. Houck noted that when Roseville began as a farm community, Ramsey Coun- <br />ty had served as its police force, but it didn't need a lot of services. However, as <br />the community had grown through the years, residential and businesses, Mr. <br />Houck opined that those needs were now much different than in the past; as well <br />as being much different than other cities serviced by the Ramsey County Sheriff <br />as their police presence. Mr. Houck opined there was no other community in the <br />northern suburbs as busy as Roseville was. <br />In reading through Councilmember McGehee's proposal, Mr. Houck opined that <br />numbers are easy to put down and look good. However, in business, Mr. Houck <br />noted he'd seen many proposals look good but when the final analysis was done <br />the project or service was way over projections. Mr. Houck stated he had also <br />ready the City Manager's report on this proposal, and opined he had found it to be <br />an excellent job in providing reasons for retaining the community's local police <br />force. <br />Mr. Houck stated he had known many police chiefs and officers through the <br />years, and opined that Roseville now has one of the finest chief s it had ever hac1, <br />as well as a good police force. <br />When reviewing the numbers provided in Councilmember McGehee's presenta- <br />tion, Mr. Houck opined that when things looked too good to be true, they usually <br />were; and further opined they may look more beneficial than they would be in ac- <br />tuality. Mr. Houck urged the City Council to keep local police services, opining <br />they were one of the best forces in the broader suburban community. Mr. Houck <br />stated he found the proposal outrageous and hoped the City Council would give it <br />no merit. <br />Jim Falconbridge, President of the Roseville Police Foundation <br />Mr. Faulconbridge referenced a recent City News newsletter to read about the <br />high performance citizens held for their local government services and staggering <br />approval ratings. In that same community survey, Mr. Faulconbridge noted Ro- <br />seville residents listed their biggest concern was high crime rates. Mr. Faulcon- <br />bridge stated that Roseville wasn't Mayberry, and urged the City Council not to <br />consider this proposal. <br />Mr. Faulconbridge provided a comparison of inner ring suburb police departments <br />using 2015 statistics and crime data taken from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehen- <br />sion's Uniform Crime Report. Mr. Faulconbridge also provided a document enti- <br />tled "Department Summary from Ramsey County Sherif�s Office that included a <br />statement that as a result of increased service demands, there had been a tendency <br />to largely rely on overtime and hiring or retired deputies as temporary staff to <br />compensate for staffing shortages. <br />