Earlier this month, Accessmilton.com released the story regarding the creation of the Milton Fire / Police Charitable Fund. Initially, we had planned on sitting down with Public Safety Director Chris Lagerbloom to conduct an interview in regards to questions we might recieve due to this piece. However, due to overwhelming response, we have decided to release various citizens questions here in your very own Milton, Georgia Fire & Police Forum. Hopefully, Mr. Lagerbloom will be able to address these questions as time allows.
1. “How is the City of Milton going to handle the current unsolved crimes that Fulton County now has in the City of Milton?”
2. “We have noticed and increase in the amount of gang activity in the Morris Road / Deerfield Parkway area in which I live. What does the Police department plan on doing about this growing problem?”
3. “There is a North Fulton Officer that patrols my neighborhood on a regular basis and my family would love to see him make the switch to Milton. However, we have heard that none of the North Fulton Officers are applying? Why? Aren’t the benefits packages the same?”
THE PROBLEM IS THAT THE COUNTY OFFICERS MAKE BETWEEN 25-30 THOUSAND A YEAR ( INCLUDING SECONDARY EMPLOYMENT ) MORE THAN WHAT THE CITY IS OFFERING. THE OTHER PROBLEM FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND IS THAT THE BENEFIT PACKAGE IS SUB-STANDARD. TO OFFER A DEFINED BENEFIT PENSION WITHOUT BENEFITS ON THE BACK END IS LIKE A BAIT AND SWITCH TACTIC OFFERED BY A RETAIL OUTLET!ALSO THE COUNTY’S INSURANCE IS HALF OF WHAT THE CITY’S IS. A NEIGHBOR DOWN THE STREET ALSO HEARD THAT THE STARTING PAY WAS ( 42,000 ) NOT COMPETETIVE WITH OTHER SURROUNDING DEPARTMENTS. I DON’T SEE ANY WAY WE CAN ATTRACT EXISTING OFFICERS TO THE CITY. WHAT WE WILL PROBABLY END UP WITH IS OFFICERS FROM VERY RURAL AREA’S WITH LITTLE IF ANY EXPERIENCE. I GUESS THAT SHOULD NOT BE A SURPRISE CONSIDERING THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC SAFETY ONLY HAS NINE YEARS OR SO. AND WHY DO WE EVEN HAVE A DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC SAFETY? THE DEPARTMENT IS GOING TO BE LESS THAN 25 OFFICERS. AND FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND HIS SALARY IS ABOUT 96,000 A YEAR….WOW! WHAT DO WE GET FOR THAT? THE CITY IS ALREADY STRAPPED FOR CASH AND WE ARE PAYING 96,000 A YEAR TO A POSITION THATS POSSIBLY NOT EVEN NECESSARY. AND FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND ALPHARETTA P.D. IS BEING SUB-CONTRACTED TO OPERATE IN OUR CITY. IF WE ARE NOT READY TO HANDLE THIS RESPONSIBILITY WHY DID WE NOT STAY WITH THE COUNTY UNTIL SUCH TIME! I DON’T WANT ALPHARETTA OFFICERS WORKING IN OUR CITY.
The City of Milton encourages open dialogue with and among our citizens. We welcome all questions, comments, complaints and reporting of problems through our information e-mail address, info@cityofmiltonga.us, or by calling us at 678.242.2500, which is monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Utilizing these contact points ensures a prompt response. It also enables us to log and track inquiries as necessary to be sure they are addressed as well as identify trends that may require us to refocus resources.
For these reasons, along with time constraints and a preference to interact directly with our constituents, city staff will not be participating in online forums or blogs. Thank you.
Bill Doughty, APR
Communication Manager
City of Milton
Bill,
It’s unfortunate that the City…oops sorry, meant CH2M Hill, won’t be interacting on these forums or any other forums, including those on the Milton Herald or AJC websites.
If this is to be your standard response, them I’m sure many would prefer if you didn’t bother to read the forums either. In other words, until you REALLY want to know what people think, mind your own damn business!
I’m sure that the people working for our community are adults, why don’t you let them speak for themselves instead of blocking anything they may have to offer.
Many have shared the same experience as myself when contacting City Hall, once we do finally received a response from the correct party, the answers seem shielded and our concerns are deflected.
I’m honestly not even sure why you have a position with the City of Milton. Do we really need a full-time Communication Manager?
Anyways, keep being a jerk, and we’ll see how well the people react.
Thanks,
Jan
I agree with Bill for the most part and don’t think that insulting someone is in keeping with the attitude and character of folks from the area.
At this point, I’m sure the city is still overwhelmed at times with calls and e-mails.
I myself have received prompt responses everytime, and the city website does have an FAQ link on the homepage, so maybe there needs to be a submission form added to that page so that the city could identify common issues and address them there.
-TA