Payson Roundup

Editor:

This letter is to all town, city and state managers, governors, and lawmakers in our United States of America. Never cut law enforcement and firemen census positions from your budgets. In the USA a national law should be passed by our Congress to make budget census for all police and fire department officers a priority, never to be adjusted downward.

Where would the monies come from to support this national law? A special payroll tax titled “Public Safety Support.”

Some would say “not another tax.”

A current unnecessary tax could be found and eliminated. We as citizens of the USA must speak up to support our law enforcement and firemen, as our public safety is first. I have been involved in budget preparation for a Fortune 500 company, I am aware of how base-line budgets are planned and written. Many support census positions are not as necessary as police and fire and could be taken out of the budget.

In our current age of high technology, computers can crunch numbers and keep track of essential data necessary to operate municipal businesses. If our municipality management really wants to give customer service to us citizens, who are the taxpayers, they should cut administrative census positions first when economic downturns occur.

All law enforcement, correction and detention officers, dispatchers, EMT and firefighters census positions must remain a priority. Crime never goes away. In our current situation, citizens and businesses need protection. Being a retired senior citizen, my motto is public safety must be our No. 1 priority.

James Carroll