Potter Longway group discusses crime, city budget

Crime and the city budget were discussed at the Potter Longway Neighborhood Association meeting Oct. 18.

"In the last six months we've had enough crime to make people move out of Flint," said a member. "No one wants to move here. Am I the only one here who thinks we need more police?"

Councilman Josh Freeman (4th Ward) explained that besides public safety issues the city is getting less money from property taxes.

"The city isn't over spending. Property values are so low in the city that we're facing a $4 million budget shortage," Freeman said. "And public safety is 75 percent of our budget. People are talking about raising taxes.

"If we double taxes we'd just cover the budget deficit. There has been talk about a special assessment for public safely but the earliest that could happen would be at the February elections," Freeman said.

He said the city has only 142 sworn police — that includes both patrol officers and detectives.

A member asked Freeman if he thought the Ceasefire program the mayor announced last spring would reduce crime.

"It [Ceasefire] reduced crime in Northpoint, N.C., by almost 50 percent," Freeman said. "One of our problems is the jail holds 582 people and it's been overcrowded since it was built. Prisoners are being released early. The Ceasefire program calls for prosecuting offenders to the fullest extent of the law and putting offenders in federal prison to serve their entire sentence," he said.

After some discussion the group decided to form a group of volunteers to act as block captains.

"We may not have the police available but if one person on every street gets involved — we can make something happen," said a member. "But until we take that first step it's not going to change."

The group heard from Donald Lada of the Eastside Business Association who said the key to a safe neighborhood is an active neighborhood group. "We have to accept the landscape we live in and make it better," Lada said.

The Rev. Carl Cooke, pastor of the Eastwood United Methodist Church, urged the group to be persistent like the widow in the Bible who kept appealing to an unjust judge until her needs were met.

Some members were disgruntled with the city's decision to celebrate Halloween Oct. 30 because it means a two-day celebration in the neighborhood.

"Kids will come out Saturday and Sunday," said one member.

A suggested alternative was for homeowners to turn off their lights on Saturday night and direct children to Eastwood United Methodist Church, 3312 Whittier St., which is holding a "trunk and treat" Saturday.

Last year more than 500 children came to the church, a member said.

Tom Casteel asked if anyone knew of vacant properties in the area that could be turned into community gardens.

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