Letter to the Editor

City should consider all police costs

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Once again Blytheville finds it needs more money, this time to fund police pay raises. Has the city calculated the value of take home police cars as part of the officers' total compensation package. If they have not, they should. Additionally, what are the tax implications for the officers who drive cruisers when off duty? I don't have numbers available to me but I'll wager the total value (car, insurance, maintenance, fuel, crashes, etc.) of drive home cruisers is substantial. This plan for take home cruisers is a huge financial failure. The city is broke, but we can afford take home cruisers for our cops. I think the fleet of our cruisers should not be more that what is "essential" to cover the shift that is on duty, plus a few spares. Think about it Blytheville, let's put priorities in order. Also, when comparing one city's practices to another, we should compare apples to apples. I strongly urge the city eliminate drive home cruisers, and put the value in the officers' pay check.

Peter Ricard

Blytheville