**note from the editor- Posts in the “user submitted” section of this site are not necessarily the views of the administration at BradfordPA.Info
If the mayor really has such a problem with police, why doesn’t he just step down. He is head of the police department. His paycheck for being mayor, comes out of the money budgeted for the police.
His paycheck may be the main motive that he is trying to dismantle the police department. If the city were to re-hire the officer that is laid off, and with a $400,000 budget shortfall, maybe he is just trying to save his own paycheck.
As for taking the officer from dispatching and phone answering duties, he is getting an officer on the street, but is creating many more problems than he is solving. He tries to explain this away with the promise that it will save money. That is pure stupidity, and he is simply relying on the citizens of Bradford to be mindless sheep and believe what he says.
How is this going to save the city money? The officers that work the desk will still receive the same salary. No money saved there.
The electric bill might be a bit smaller, good job, $60 a month is now saved. But, now the city needs to foot the bill to put a lighted phone area in that would call directly to the 911 center. Sounds like money spent that didn’t need to be to me. $60 savings on the monthly electric bill just went out the window also. Street lights cost money.
The police station is going to need to beef up its security. There are weapons, evidence, and sensitive paperwork stored at the station. The mayor’s answer to this was that someone would have to be crazy to break in to the police station. Maybe the mayor forgets that not too many years ago, someone broke in to the District Magistrates office and lit records on fire? Not so crazy anymore eh?
So, not only are we not saving the town any money, and actually costing the city more, but we’re putting a larger burden on the county as well. Now the 911 center will handle the 70+ calls that the police station deals with daily. If the county has to hire additional staff to handle the call volume, then the county is hurting for money.
A trained police officer works the desk at the station. Civilians work the 911 center. The 911 operators can’t give any advice on the legality of an incident like the city police can. When a person calls in to the 911 center to ask a silly question, like, “how late can I play my music?”, the 911 center has to dispatch the officer to go talk to the person and speak with them regarding the subject. That officer is shown as busy at the 911 center, and when something serious occurs, won’t be called to the scene until he is shown as clear from talking to a citizen about noise ordinances. Overtime will become a bigger factor as well.
I’m also wondering why everyone just seemed to drop the towing fiasco here in town?
First, even though the mayor had no part in writing up the bid packet, he knew what was going to be in the packet. The impound lot was a big factor in the bid packet. Magically, Dale Phillips just happened to be building one after the bid packet was already being worked on. Think maybe the mayor tipped his brother in law off on what the requirements were going to be? Phillips didn’t even have a towing service until the bid packet was started.
I happen to know a man, that knows exactly who told Dale Phillips the wording to use in his bid packet. He could also tell you about how the city was allowing Phillips Auto Depot to do all painting and body work on all of the city vehicles. A service which included sticking Phillips Auto Depot stickers on the back of every police vehicle in town, until the mayor caught wind of people talking about the stickers on a local forum. Maybe the citizens of Bradford would also like to know about the used vehicle that Dale Phillips sold to the city, and outfitted and painted for a police car, when a police cruiser was in an accident. The funny thing is, is that it never went out to bid. Sounds a bit illegal to me.
Another funny thing here in the city, right after Dale Phillips was awarded the towing bid, he sold his tow trucks to a person that was working for him. Phillips never fulfilled the obligations of the contract that he was entering into by submitting a bid. He won, and only provided towing for a short time. Why was he not sued for filing a false bid, or for breaking the contract? Maybe because he is the mayor’s brother in law?
Do the citizens a favor Mr. Riel, step down, or quit trying to destroy the police department and the rest of our town for your own selfish interests.
5 Comments
As a Bradford city resident, I feel that Riel is doing a great job. At least he is actually taking action and getting things done unlike other persons in office who are complacent and just try to maintain the status quo. I also think the police in Bradford are a bunch of spoiled brats who get new expensive toys every year or so – new cruisers, weapons, assault gear, segways, bicycles, uniforms, etc. All of this costs major money but I really don’t even see how it’s warranted at all. Bradford + Townships is only around 9000 persons give or take, yet our police department is outfitted as if this were a city of 100,000 or more. Most of the crimes are either drug or alcohol related, maybe some of that money needs to be spent on a rehab center for low income persons instead of more police and/or police paraphanalia.
Seems to me that any REAL police officer would rather be out on the street than behind a desk anyway. If the one specious argument for having an officer on the desk is to just answer questions regarding legal matters, then why not just simply post the City Code online for all to see? Then it would just be a matter of looking up the relevant section(s) if one had a question regarding it. To implement this would be more a matter of time than cost.
As far as nespotism, show me one place where it isn’t prevelant in this town? Most of the large employers rosters are all filled with the family and friends of other employees, especially the higher paying positions. If you want to accuse the Mayor of it, then make sure you use the other nine fingers to point at Zippo, Graham, KOA, Control Chief, Bradford Forest, and let’s not forget the City of Bradford itself!
Riel has done a lot of positive things for this city since stepping into office, things that benefit the common people and not just the Patricians, unlike his predecessors. I for one see no need at all for Riel to step down, if anything, he should step UP his actions towards improving the condition of this city of ours!
“Riel has done a lot of positive things for this city since stepping into office, things that benefit the common people and not just the Patricians, unlike his predecessors. I for one see no need at all for Riel to step down, if anything, he should step UP his actions towards improving the condition of this city of ours!”
Would you please share them (good things he has done) with us instead of keeping them a secret!
Good things? I can’t think of any. If you mean the unenforceable graffiti ordinance, I don’t see that as good.
What happened to his promise to reform the fire hall?
He called around to all of these cities for his article in the paper, did he bother to ask how many of them have paid fire departments with multiple buildings?
I would like to say that the city code is online. I have a link to it in the “useful information” section.
The Bradford City Code has nothing to do with criminal code though. That is state and federally regulated.
mr. riel is a fake he is a back stabber he has done nothing to help the people of bradford he needs to step down . i will do everything i can to stop tom from being the mayor next term he has a lot in his closet and he knows it i would like to see him take a drug test a peace hair will do send that in and lets get the results