Why we need TABOR more than ever: Portland to get more police toys it does not need.
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Portland Press Herald
Grant could fund boat for police in Portland
The department may use Homeland Security money to buy a [$225,000] high-speed boat for emergency response.
By TOM BELL, Staff Writer November 13, 2009
The Portland Police Department may use a Homeland Security grant to buy a Protector like the model above. The Maine Marine Patrol has three of the high-speed boats.
. . .
Steven Scharf, . . ,
"My response is to laugh," he said. "It's ludicrous that the city of Portland should buy a police boat. I think these are government people who want more toys, and the toys will cost us money."
Although the boat might appear to be a free gift from the federal government, there would be long-term costs for maintenance and operation, Scharf said.
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=295863&ac=PHnws
I really did laugh this afternoon when Tom told me about this. I had thought about going to the meeting on Tuesday for a different item, but had a later meeting to get to out of town so I skipped it.
You would think after the Fireboat Crew quarters debacles, the public safety folks would have learned. They just do not have a clue.
It also is typical of government, much more expensive to buy than it needs to be.
Steven Scharf
SCSMedia@aol.com
For the six weeks of lousy skiing in Maine, sometimes known as summer, Portland Harbor and it's immediate waters has:
The Harbormaster with 2 newish boats that look like that.
The Coast Guard.
The Marine Patrol
The Coast Guard auxilary
The Falmouth harbormaster
Sea Tow
the Lobstermen and other recreational craft willing and mostly able to assist.
Portland Police would be the newest addition and likely the last outfit I'd call to assist.
This is absurd.
Just another boat to run aground. In more ways than one.
Steve:
Some excellent comments in this morning's Press Herald.
How would a state wide imposed TABOR prevent the City of Portland from receiving a grant from Homeland Security?
If TABOR is what Portland needs, then Steve, by all means, work to get it passed in Portland. The rest of Maine doesn't need.
TM is correct. TABOR would not have addressed this.
What we need is an end to all intergovernmental fund transfers. The unit of government that spends the money should have to raise the money. There is no accountability when one level provides the funds and another level spends the money.
I agree that there's no real need for the Portland PD to have this boat. As Chris pointed out, there is already ample rescue service available.
As Steve pointed out, the boat might be "free," but operations, mooring, training, and maintenance are most certainly NOT free.
I agree with Dan.
If I could only cite one fact to prove that the average citizen is clueless, it would be the absolute inability to grasp the simple fact that all government money comes from us, one way or another, no matter who the check is from.
That "Quagmire" post is excellent.
I agree in principle that TABOR would not have stopped this, but had it past; our city leaders would not feel that they can blindly spend our money.
We have a very short city council meeting on Monday which will give an excellent opportunity for people to come express their concern with this project.
Steven Scharf
SCSMedia@aol.com
PS: The council also plans to pick their new council chairman at 6:30 pm at a council caucus. This is usually done just a couple of days after the election so that the new chair can begin their ascension planning. There looks to be a showdown in the works between Green David Marshall and Dem Nick Mavadones. Nick previously was chair and the unofficial policy has been to go to the next person who has not been chair who wants the job. The comment I have heard opposing Dave is that he is not experienced enough. I don’t think that was said about Peter O’Donnell when he was chair at age 30, the same age as Dave.
Do you expect the vote will be 5-4 with Leeman and the three Greens on one side and the 5 Democrats on the other?
Quoting Dan Billings:
"What we need is an end to all intergovernmental fund transfers. The unit of government that spends the money should have to raise the money. There is no accountability when one level provides the funds and another level spends the money."
Accept ofcourse if it involves federal dollars to support sidewalks in Bowdoinham, I presume?
Nope. I would have campaigned against taking the money if a no vote would have meant that the money would not be spent. But that was not an option.
What ever happened to the police taking the toys from the drug runners?
They don’t have a problem taking cash associated with drug sales, so if there is a need for a fast boat they should take one from a drug runner. I’m sure Florida has a few on hand they would be willing to part with because they actually need to give chase to the runners. In Maine they smuggle some of the drugs on fishing boats and they don’t move all that fast. The drugs of choice in Maine are prescription meds, not so much hard street drugs. Thus, there is litttle demand for a drug boat.
"Do you expect the vote will be 5-4 with Leeman and the three Greens on one side and the 5 Democrats on the other?"
Yes, although there are two dems that I am told are being lobbied. Waxman and Skolnik. I am no help in that effort with these two.
Steven Scharf
SCSMedia@aol.com
You still don't get it....... the majority of people in Maine want to pay higher taxes every year. Thats why every bond (loan) issue passes and Tabor always fails.
We love to pay a larger and larger percent of our paycheck for this stuff. If we didn't, we wouldn't keep voting for it.
When I'm driving through a little dinky town at 10 at night during the middle of May and I see 4 police cars with the name of the town in the Dunkin Donuts parking lot, I assume that the PD is primarily supported with federal funds, because it doesn't make sense to me that a town of 4,000 could afford to have 4 LEOs on patrol during a weeknight.
Tom
4 LEO’s at the D&D is called Community Policing in Maine. At least Portland is attemting to do something about comunity based police work and it appears to be working well for them.
Did you observe the officers eating donuts or were they on a call?
TM is correct. TABOR would not have addressed this.
What we need is an end to all intergovernmental fund transfers. The unit of government that spends the money should have to raise the money. There is no accountability when one level provides the funds and another level spends the money.
Would this include MDOT $$ for sidewalks in Bowdoinham??
"Did you observe the officers eating donuts or were they on a call?"
It was a raid.
They're cracking down on overly sugary sugar donuts.
Mid-Coast Mainer: Yes. See above. If Bowdoinham voting No would have meant that the money would not have been spent, I would have led the No campaign. But that was not what would have happened. The money would have been spent somewhere.
But as long as the state and the feds are taxing me to support local government, I am going to take what I can get for my town.
But I favor blowing up the whole system. There is no accountability in our current system. The locals blame the state, the state blame the feds. The people who spend the money should have to raise the money.
Did you observe the officers eating donuts or were they on a call?
They were sitting at a table drinking coffee and chatting up some bleached blonde.
Wow - Hair Racism or what? How do you know she was a bleached blonde, huh? Huh?
How do you know she wasn't A NATURAL BLOND, maybe just recently returned from a tropical clime, where her tresses were sun-kissed into their tawny state???
Sheesh.
If Bowdoinham voting No would have meant that the money would not have been spent, I would have led the No campaign. But that was not what would have happened. The money would have been spent somewhere.
If Portland turns this money down, will it be spent elsewhere? How is it any different?
This gimme comes with much more significant long-term operating costs.
you can justify anything when is suits your position.
Blow up the system, just leaved Bowdoinham alone.
Reduce excise tax, but not willing to do it in Bowdoinham. (yes, you could appropriate local funds to reimburse excise tax after it has been paid)
Lots of waste in government, but not willing to take the lead in Bowdoinham.
Once again I ask that if you are passionate about your ideas that you bring them forward publicly in your own town where you hold a position of leadership. Maybe it could be the start,,,,,As Bowdoinahm goes, so goes Maine????
First, Bowdoinham is a liberal town. I am lucky to have the impact that I have. I push to eliminate waste little by little. I have won some big battles -- shutting down the Bowdoinham Police Department -- and continue to fight other little ones. If I start fights that I know I can't win, things will head in the wrong direction.
We have a systematic problem. It is not going to be fixed town by town. Everyone thinks their town is doing just fine -- and given the insane system we have in Maine that is generally true. Bowdoinham, and most towns, are not going to make systematic changes unless forced to.
People in Bowdoinham pay state and federal taxes that fund all the crazy handouts. As long as the handouts are being given -- and we are helping to pay for them -- we should not cut off our nose to spite our face.
I think the home mortgage deduction is bad public policy, but I will continue to take it as long as it is the law.
Politics is the art of the possible. I will continue to work within the current system, while knowing that it needs to be destroyed.
You profit from the current system and will, as a result, continue to defend it.
In retrospect this police boat is merely a fraction of the costs of pet projects like Boston’s Big Dig. Whoever wrote the grant most likely sited some Homeland Security statistics on how Portland’s harbor is quite busy and needs some additional law enforcement coverage. It is evident to me that Portland has a gifted grant writer that will continue to secure federal funding as long it’s available for the taking. It’s just a shame people think federal dollars grow on trees.
Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. I believe that it is Portland Police that support Peaks Island (plus..).
If that is true, I'm amazed that they don't have a relatively high speed boat already.
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When Nixon decided to seize the crime issue and play national sheriff, billions were budgeted for police toys. Every congressman with a little clout sniffed pork in the air and put in a bid for a piece of the action. So the Twin Privies, Miss. PD got a tank; Ellipse, Iowa got assault rifles, Fall's Falls, Wisc. got bullet-proof vests. This is how American politics works.
"All politics is local."