Quote:
Originally Posted by El Bubba
John,
Everything you say is fine and dandy. I love Copper Hill, I'm a responsible neighbor, I do business there.
What I can't understand is why a town of less than 600 people needs a full time police force, four officers.
I'm also curious, because you seem to be "In the know", who pays their salaries? Are those some sort of Federal grants or do they have to generate revenue through speeding tickets? Where does the money come from?
El Bubba
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The subject of the Copperhill Police Department seems to be something that has existed forever and is always a subject of debate..
If you are a person living in Copperhill, you more than likely want a Police Department for some of the following reasons.
1) Visible deterrent to the criminal element (burglars, thieves, scammers, child molesters, and worse criminals, etc etc.)
2) Quicker emergency response for medical and other emergencies (especially for the elderly)
3) Higher quality of life (they supposedly enforce city ordinances such as dealing with noise violations, loose animals and such).
4) Lower insurance costs for business owners and property owners - all city police department factors into lower cost ratings by insurance carriers - they know there probably will be on average fewer property crimes where there is a close by presence..
Unfortunately, bad things can happen in tiny cities as well as large ones. Look around the country and you can see..
As far as where the money comes from - property taxes, grants (although the grants usually just pay for equipment, not manpower), beer taxes and sales and use taxes collected in the city all pay for all aspects of the city operation.
McCaysville also has four officers - Blue Ridge has considerably more.