Last Week: City marshal program versus small-town police force
Berkeley Lake recently introduced a city marshal program to replace the use of independently employed security guards. The community of 2,000 residents continues to rely upon Gwinnett County Police to provide all law enforcement. The city marshal has no authority to write traffic tickets or make arrests.
Berkeley Lake was experiencing a high turnover of security guards. A full-time city marshal is expected to get to know residents and businesses and better recognize suspicious behavior. The city marshal will work closely with Gwinnett Police to provide enhanced response times and hopefully more effectively deter crime.
Neighboring cities in Gwinnett, including Duluth, Norcross and Suwanee, have established their own police forces. Peachtree Corners officials say they are happy with the level of response they are receiving from Gwinnett Police.
We asked readers what they think is best, a city marshal program, security guard services, county police enforcement or their own city police department.
Here are some responses:
I do not believe residents in any city limits save money by forming their own police departments. Lets face it most do it for political reasons and to be able to have local control. The problem is that these smaller agencies do not have the resources the larger agencies do and many times rely on the county agency or GBI for major crimes. The start up costs are generally enormous with a long payback period. Another issue is jurisdiction. The agreement is that the county will not enforce in the city even though the city is in the county. Smaller agency police officers are generally not trained as well as larger agencies and are dangerous. I have been a certified officer since 1994. — Bob Appell
I live in Dacula, a great community, and we have a marshal. One of the best places to live in Georgia. — Mizel Clayton Wood
Our city marshal has never even turned his lights on, waste of taxpayers' money! (Dacula) — Michael Cutchens
Better than what we had with the security company but I think the deal Peachtree Corners struck with Gwinnett County is much better. Too bad we're still paying off an expensive note for a piece of land that Berkeley Lake purchased and only benefited maybe five residents. It's all about priorities and Berkeley Lake has problems setting these. — David Garramone
Great idea. — Nathan Horton
What is the difference? — Gregory A. Garner
My son is a security officer in Florida. He works armed posts at $18.50 per hour. He says his company has little or no turnover. Why the high turnover in this Atlanta situation? He has no arrest powers and would not want to have them. That's for the police. — Quackmeyer
This makes about as much sense as the $15 an hour minimum wage. By hiring marshals, do you think that they will take the place of police officers? — Dan Gajda
I like the city marshal plan. As stated, Berkeley Lake is a small community with very little crime. It makes sense to have a presence in the community, especially with someone that knows the community so well. — Mickey, Berkeley Lake resident
I think it is a good move for Berkeley Lake. — Jean, Berkeley Lake resident
There is only one city marshal to start, so the city marshal cannot provide 24/7 coverage like the security guards. Thus the Gwinnett police come in whenever the city marshal is off duty. I hope. — Minh, Berkeley Lake resident
Citizen's arrest, citizen's arrest. Can you imagine? — Eric Siegel
Karen Huppertz for the AJC
On June 29, the Fayette County Board of Education will vote on the budget for the 2015-16 school year. The draft budget was presented to the board on June 1, and proposes to spend just under $184 million in the coming year, up $20 million from last year and including an $18.4 million fund balance. The increase is based on a projected 10-12 percent rise in property tax revenue since last year.
The proposed budget includes hiring more teachers as a means of reducing class sizes, and giving all employees a 2 percent cost-of-living raise. It will also restore some of the elementary school parapros and four high school assistant principal positions that were cut during the recession. Clerical, technical and administrative staff have also been added. Some of the positions are intended to address heavier workloads created by new assessment standards for students and teachers.
Board member Barry Marchman has questioned the size of the proposed budget, claiming that Fayette County’s per-student expenditures are “really out of line with where we ought to be.” He suggested that the county consider a cap on school spending and adjust staffing accordingly, and that “it might be time to consider a millage reduction” below the allowed maximum of 20 mills.
Board members Diane Basham and Leonard Presberg said their talks with parents indicated a strong desire to reduce class sizes, and Dan Colwell cited the need to keep Fayette teachers’ salaries competitive.
So given Fayette's economic climate, which is more important, more teachers or lower taxes? Send your thoughts to communitynews@ajc.com.
