By Lisa Lucas Gardner, J.D. On July 5 at 7:47 PM
What the ??? is what I thought after I read the article about my pet peeve of gasoline consumption in The Current on Saturday. There were several things that stood out about the TOC gasoline consumption. By the way, how'd ya like those numbers? I sure wish Councilman Stipes would have let the BPOL fees stay as proposed or increased because we could have used that extra $45,000 to help pay for the gasoline this year.
1. Why wasnt the TOC able to provide exactly how much money was/is spent on gasoline? I want to see those numbers when they figure it out.
2. Officers who live far away, such as in Floyd, shouldnt have a take home cruiser no matter what. If the excuse is that they are needed for the Tactical Response Team, I say "Hogwash." There are many other officers, including our Chief, that live closer that can respond to help and their are mutual aid teams from the County and the State Police that can respond. That isnt acceptable, especially when the TACT officers know that their presence may be needed in a few minutes and a person's life may depend on the team having to wait for a 15 minutes response from an officer who lives so far away. Our team should be able to mobilize completely with all members within minutes.
Chief Sisson should change this policy immediately because of several things that are wrong by allowing it. An officer responding from that far away creates an unnecessary danger by driving at a high rate of speed on a very dangerous road and exposes himself and innocent citizens to their code 3 response. It just isnt justified or necessary to expose the TOC to that risk and it is a "perk" that shouldnt be allowed because of the high gasoline prices that we are paying. No more take home cruisers outside the TOC.
3. Five minute idling time? Is that really what I read? ZERO minutes should be the rule. It is plain & simple negligence and not necessary to leave an unattended motor vehicle running at anytime for any reason. A child, mentally disabled person , or a criminal could come along and simply drive off in an unattended vehicle and kill someone. The TOC would be liable for breaching their duty owed to the public if anything did happen, therefore it should be the TOC policy that NO vehicle is left unattended at anytime in the future. In this case, safety comes before conservation.
Common TOC officials, when WE say save & conserve, WE want real conservation to really save, not simply go through the motions and cut back some.