• second comment in same thread

Tt post may 30, 2017

The opinion from the MSN article:

The prevalence of violent crime in Toledo may be partially attributable to an inadequately staffed police force.

I don't know about now in 2017, but in 2015, Toledo had more police officers per X-number of residents than in 1970.

Relatively speaking, is Toledo's crime rate increasing as the population decreases?

Excerpts from a March 2016 comment

Toledo, Ohio:

	1970	2015	change	% change
population	383,818	281,031	-102,787	-26.78 %
police officers	730	631	-99	-13.56 %
residents per officer	526	445	+81	+15.40 %
firefighters	558	490	-68	-12.19 %
residents per firefighter	687	574	+113	+16.45 %
square miles	84	84	0	0.00 %

If we used the 1970 ratios, then Toledo would see the number of police officers drop from 631 to 534, and the number of firefighters drop from 490 to 409.

How much money would Toledo save if it reduced the number of police officers by 97 and the number of firefighters by 81?

Toledo in 1970 must have been like a Mad Max world with fewer officers per residents, compared to today.

Good timing on this ...

May 30, 2017 - Toledo Blade - Kapszukiewicz pledges to hire 40 police officers each year if elected

Mr. Kapszukiewicz, the Lucas County treasurer, said Toledo could afford the extra police officers with money the Hicks-Hudson administration has not yet announced it has available.

Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson told The Blade the city has several million dollars extra from lower-than-expected health care costs and workers’ compensation costs.

Toledo’s ticket revenue from its handheld speed cameras is also above budget.

Updated 2017 numbers:

"We have 602 officers on our police staff," Mr. Kapszukiewicz said. "That is too low. That is dangerously low.... We are already lower than cities our size."

That's still too high, compared to Toledo's population decline.

May 25, 2017 - Toledo Blade - Census showing Toledo steadily losing residents - "Most suburbs enjoying modest population gains"

According to new census data, the city is inching closer to the dreaded quarter-million mark in population, a figure it hasn’t seen since the 1920s.

Toledo’s population was estimated at 278,508 as of last summer — a loss of 1,168 residents from the previous year, the U.S. Census Bureau reported today.

Toledo's population:

• 1920 : 243,164
• 1930 : 290,718
• 1940 : 282,349
• 1950 : 303,616
• 1960 : 318,003
• 1970 : 383,818
• 1980 : 354,635
• 1990 : 332,943
• 2000 : 313,619
• 2010 : 287,208
• 2020 guesstimate : 275,000

April 2017 Blade story about local home construction that is occurring outside Toledo:

From villas to mansions, contractors say demand surging in region

The Toledo area’s new-home market appears poised to have its best year since the recession eight years ago, according to local builders and others in the housing industry.

Ninety-three house-building permits have been issued in Lucas and Wood counties in the first two months of 2017.

The numbers don’t include Toledo and Maumee, but those cities generally have few new-home permits.

Builders say the hottest areas for new homes are Perrysburg, Monclova Township, and the Sylvania area. However, activity also is heating up in the Waterville-Whitehouse area and in Bedford Township in Michigan.

Generally, villa homes — usually one story, maintenance-free living — range from $250,000 to $300,000, but can go up to $400,000 depending on the amenities, area builders say.

Single-family homes start at about $200,000. The high end is about $400,000. “The sweet spot is somewhere between $300,000 to $400,000,” Mr. Moline said.

Toledo creates revenue streams based upon traffic enforcement cameras, an illegal refuse fee, and who knows what else.

And unfortunately, our current mayor may be oblivious about what is occurring within the 80-plus square miles of Toledo.

Excerpts from the May 2017 Blade story about Toledo's population decline that has been occurring for nearly 50 years:

Toledo Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson said she is skeptical on the population estimate’s accuracy in light of the ongoing revitalization of buildings in the city’s downtown and other improvements and economic growth.

That's a misguided view from the mayor. That's ignoring reality. That's an insult to the struggling Toledo neighborhoods.

Someone needs to show the mayor a map of Toledo, Ohio.

It seems that too many Toledo politicians are wearing blinders, and/or they are intentionally ignoring the fact that Toledo is many times larger than a small area of downtown that has seen improvement.

Carty's bus tours where he took city officials around the town is a good idea. City officials need to know what is Toledo.

Regarding our roads that somehow seem worse in recent weeks, I'm convinced that a gang with high-tech, silenced jackhammers are roaming around, drilling new holes.

Obviously, it's an election year.

May 28, 2017 - Toledo Blade - Election years great for roads in Toledo

The city of Toledo will spend more this year fixing residential streets like Mr. Woodson’s road than it has in five years — $7 million this year compared to $700,000 last year.

Like other mayoral election years, the city found millions that couldn’t be found in non-election years ...

second comment in same thread

May 30, 2017 - Toledo Blade - Mayor: Toledo could have $6 million more than expected

Mayor Hicks-Hudson said the city has several million dollars extra from lower-than-expected health care costs; reduced workman compensation costs; greater-than-anticipated income taxes, and more money than expected from tickets issued with handheld speed cameras devices.

"What we have is some good news," the mayor told The Blade. "And the good news is because of ... the handheld speed cameras and some other revenue things that are happening."

That's good news??? Are handheld speed cameras a sustainable revenue stream? What happens when too many people drive slower?

With all the handheld speed camera action, maybe that means Toledo has too many police officers.

Harassing drivers on the highway makes money for the city.

Trying to protect and serve the citizens our neighborhoods makes no direct money for the city.

Mayor Hicks-Hudson stressed the city's general fund would not have a surplus since it is balanced again this year by transferring millions from the city capital improvement fund.

All three mayoral candidates have committed to reducing or stopping that transfer, which would free up more money for road repair.

The 2017 general fund budget requires $11,067,300 be taken from the capital improvement fund.

Finance Director George Sarantou also refused to call the money a general fund surplus since the city took millions from its capital improvement fund to pay for daily operations.

November 2016 Blade story

The city has shifted millions since 2010 from the capital budget to the general fund to keep it in the black and to fund the salaries of police and fire personnel — the fund’s biggest expense.

More from Tuesday afternoon's Blade story:

The city expects $173.65 million this year from the 2.25 percent income tax.

The city budgeted $7 million for residential street repaving this year, up from zero last year. [not an election year]

Mr. Waniewski said he had received hints the city would have more money this year.

“The one thing about politicians, whenever they find new money, they want to start spending and I would just as soon be careful about that,” he said.

Now that Toledo is flushed with money, the corrupt city government should end immediately the illegal refuse fee tax. Last decade, city government used multiple lies to sell this scam to the citizens.

The illegal tax was suppose to exist for one year. After that became a lie, then the illegal tax was suppose to drop to zero for people who recycled. Obviously, that was a lie too. And since the lies, the city has increased the illegal tax.

Speaking of crime, the biggest criminal in Toledo may be city government.

Toledo government implemented the illegal fee in the spring of 2007, and through 2016, the city has probably stolen over $50 million from Toledoans.

The illegal fee was expected to rob Toledoans of around $20 million over the previous two years alone.

If a business had robbed Toledoans of $20 million across 2015 and 2016, the social media mob would crap a new hashtag every 30 seconds.

Do you remember the April 2017 Blade editorial that described Toledo government's leadership after the West Toledo Kroger fiasco?

This is shameless corruption.

... they just don’t care about what is right or what the people think.

The words that come to mind are: blatant, sleazy, and shameless.