PUBLIC SAFETY

By Jack McKellar

I have always been a strong supporter of the police and fire departments and city employees.

On the issue of public safety in general, I believe that through neighborhood-oriented policing and similar approaches, the Eureka Police Department has made significant progress in reducing the overall crime rate in Eureka. I fully support the Eureka PD in continuation of their neighborhood-oriented policing policies, volunteer law enforcement programs, and community education efforts, and will continue to work to enhance those programs and projects.

On the subject of drugs and drug-related crimes, one of the issues facing local officials is the establishment of a transitional housing facility – or Multiple Assistance Center (MAC). Although I do not personally believe that a MAC would offer a viable solution to all our public safety related transient problems, I am sensitive to the needs of the homeless and mentally ill citizens of Eureka. I support the concept of helping disadvantaged citizens to seek opportunities to become self-sufficient. However, I do not believe that the City of Eureka has the resources to contribute to transient housing and rehabilitation services on a countywide basis. Rather, I feel we need to focus our attention on Eureka. I feel that if we, as elected officials, take care of the people within the city limits of Eureka, and not every soul who comes up and down the highway, we will have accomplished our mission. I understand that some drug addictions are more serious than others – some virtually incurable – and I am concerned that drug treatment in the form of rehabilitation centers is a social service that the City of Eureka has no resources to continue beyond the initial grant funds.

With regard to a Multiple Assistance Center (MAC), my main concern is: who will pay for continuance after the initial grant funds have been expended? What resources and mechanisms are in place to ensure that such a facility does not "go down the tubes"? If a MAC is established without a long-range plan – one that extends far beyond grant-funding possibilities – how does that serve the needs of our disadvantaged citizens? These are questions I will want to have satisfied in my mind prior to voting on such a project.

In terms of Fire Protection services, I would like to improve the personnel resources at each Eureka Fire Department facility, so that all areas of emergency protection are fully staffed at all times. This would involve the enhancement of available public safety funds, and I will continue to work toward that goal.

This endeavor is intrinsically related to other areas of public "safety", including infrastructure (streets, roads, sewers, water, etc.) Over the years, the compounding effect of "State take-aways" – property tax and other monies that the State ceased to share with local municipalities – has made it extremely difficult to maintain General Fund based infrastructure. It is my hope that local governments will be successful in our legislative quest to regain those funds, and I hope to have a voice in that process.