Dear Editor,
[RE: VIDEO: No apology to Township needed, says City council, Jan. 16, langleyadvancetimes.com]
Once again our Langley City mayor is inept with regard to costs to operate the City. He wastes time to vilify the Township mayor with regard to police costs.
Perhaps they should take this contract to an independent arbitrator for their cost analysis. They can agree to make it a binding or non binding deal. It’s pretty clear these two guys can’t get it done without help.
As a City taxpayer, I’m pretty sure we consume more police services than we pay for at this time.
When Township residents want to buy illegal street drugs, based on my observation through the years, they come to the downtown Langley City core.
This leads to fights, overdoses, theft from vehicles because druggies didn’t bring enough cash, etc.
I don’t want to look at another tax increase as this group has bumped us by large percentages over the last couple of years – well above inflation and the cost of living.
However, I don’t want to be forced into a Langley City detachment of RCMP, which would include a secure building, administrative staff, secure communication internet encryption, holding cells, and a guard when cell is used.
That translates to a lot of dollars.
Our luck, when SkyTrain arrives, transit police will want to drop their offenders off in a local cell. We are the same taxpayer for that police force too.
And mayor, while the transit police are sworn police officers under the BC police act, they really don’t stray far from the transit confines of their buildings and parking lots.
An increase in shared police cost is unfortunate, but it’s life as we know it and the cheaper option.
Mayor Pachal, get it together. Negotiate with honour and in good faith!
M .F. Campbell, Langley City
EDITOR'S NOTE: Mayor Nathan Pachal has since asked for a mediator. See related story:
City calls for outside help to resolve Langley policing dispute
