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 Do
you know who the Miami-Dade County Director of the Police Department
(police chief) is? Can you name the Miami-Dade County manager? Don't
feel uninformed, you're not alone. While most citizens know the mayor
of Miami-Dade County is Alex Penelas -- it helps that he was written
up in People Magazine -- far fewer could name the county manager
(Pinecrest resident Merritt Steirhiem) and I had to make a couple of
calls to find out the name of the Miami-Dade Police Department
Director, Carlos Alvarez.
Of those who could name our county leaders, few would
consider calling them to discuss a concern or to make a complaint
other than something of significant magnitude. Moreover, if you did
call any of the offices, the reality is that you would likely not
speak directly with the office holder, but would express your concerns
to a staff member. This is commonplace and is the standard in large
municipalities around the country.
However, small communities have the luxury of being
able to provide a more personalized level of service. Residents can
and do call and speak directly with the Village manger, Peter
Lombardi, and with the police chief, John Hohensee. A sample of how
the community exemplifies confidence in its services and leadership
can be extrapolated from the Village police statistics. Since our
police department came on line, we have consistently seen a decline in
the various crime categories, with the exception of petty crime.
Interestingly, it is not that we have had an increase
in this type of crime. In contrast, what we are experiencing is a
restored confidence in the system. How many of us would bother
reporting a child's bike stolen from our front yard or a vandalized
mailbox to the Metro Miami-Dade Police Department? And, I'm not
suggesting that county police are not concerned about petty crime. The
truth is, we all know that these types of offenses are low on the
priority list of any large metropolitan-area police department and
that basically it is a waste of everyone's time to file a report on a
child's stolen bike.
Consequently, the fact that we now take the time to
call our local police department to report such incidents demonstrates
that we have renewed confidence and no longer see it as a waste of
time.
Although, at times it may seem as if there are a lot
of people complaining about any number of things, I think that Village
officials should consider it a compliment. Residents, who would not
and never have bothered filing a complaint under Miami-Dade County's
reign, now do not hesitate to call in a problem or concern to
Pinecrest officials. It is a compliment that they are taking the time
to call because they now have an expectation that their concern will
be addressed. Furthermore, they know that they can call and speak
directly to the Village manager, the police chief, or the council
members, if need be.
Kudos to Cosgrove ...
On another issue, I would like to commend State Representative John
Cosgrove for casting the deciding vote to provide a choice of the
electric chair or lethal injection to convicts sentenced in death
penalty cases. I admire his courage to vote his conscience, even if it
was against his party's wishes. It is refreshing to witness common
sense over party line politics.
I can be reached at 305-666-7969 or via fax,
305-666-8487.
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