Chief's Corner

This week the Chief's Corner in the Valley Chronicle is an article that everyone in Hemet needs to read. How our city got to this point is due to a sequence of events that either required our informed participation yet failed, or was merely out of our control.
I think we can all agree that the recession was beyond anyone in Hemet's doing or control. The ability for our city to ride out the social and economic implications of a recession was left to its constituents. The utility tax was defeated by the voters. Franchville and Youssef were elected to council while campaigning against that tax. Both left the City of Hemet with its hands tied and improperly armed for what was ahead. Hemet, for the most part, is a set/ low income community. What exactly did everyone think a recession was going to attract?
You cannot put a price on safety. Well, actually you have to because we have to pay for it. What it comes down to is you are really only as safe as what you can afford to spend or are willing to spend. You know I am against unnecessary tax increases and wasteful spending but was your peace of mind, looking back, possibly worth that tax? The city is getting through this but not the way we imagined I'm sure.  Keep in mind, this is only because we have retained local control of our public safety. Imagine where we would be had the city been bound to an outside contract.
Just to talk a little about wasteful spending... The Milne, Smith, Youssef majority spent several hundred thousand tax dollars on consultants to rid the city of HFD. Those funds should have been allocated to HPD. Those three decided that your safety was far less important than an agenda.
The good news is that we do not have to worry about that majority making poor decisions and misusing our tax dollars for much longer. However, this does not mean that we become complacent. Our city reached its current state out of complacency. Here's what we need to do... Keep on our City Council. We need to make sure that they are moving this city forward and ridding us of unnecessary spending while simultaneously putting our tax dollars to work where it matters most. This means that we must be properly informed. The other thing we need to do as a community is rally around our police department and back them up! As much as we need them, they need us. If they are going to get this done, then they need to know that this community stands behind them 100%!