On Tuesday, September 8th, the Gering City Council met jointly with the Scottsbluff City Council during their regular meeting. The main focus is where to look for additional blending of services between the two cities.
I realize the concept of one city is controversial, but we should be able to work together and help each other in departments we both have, especially those that are funded by the General Fund.
This is where the blending of the two police departments comes in. Gering Police Chief Mel Griggs, Scottsbluff Police Chief Alex Moreno, and Gering City Administrator Lane Danielzuk have been meeting the last couple of months and have made some impressive headway.
They are now charged with coming up with a model for the combined police force that then could be applied in other areas.
I know there is concern about losing jobs, however I believe this will happen through attrition and not reduction in force. Working together should provide for better communication. I also believe it is a matter of working smarter rather than harder.
A Scottsbluff citizen recommended we set up citizen committees to discuss the possibility of one city. As of right now, we may not be there, but that certainly is in the future. However, we will need people that are open to possibilities and not find fault with everything.
We have been lucky that the economic downturn has not hurt us that much, YET. But it will come to that. If you want the services at the same high level, then we need to make changes in the way we run the business of running the city.
Here are a couple of links from KNEB and the Star Herald about the meeting.
http://www.kneb.com/news/index/0c483e0f-862b-4d97-a091-b99310506651
http://www.starherald.com/articles/2009/09/10/news/local_news/doc4aa7293546734685030852.txt
Until next time......
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