How Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet have failed Springfield so far

http://www.springfieldpolice.net/police/fileadmin/Police_Dept_files/acrobat_files/forms/acrobat_forms/arrestlog-60.pdf

"Sarno pledged his support of William Fitchet immediately...", "THE PEOPLE'S MAYOR" (http://www.springfield-ma.gov/COS/first-100-days.0.html)

Its early, very early in the Sarno administration but he hasn't even attempted to climb some of the platforms he built during his campaign. Some of these platforms, he has out and out lied about and someone needs to bring these inconsistencies to the light.

First, the whole trash fee/barrels fiasco. "There was a virtual revolt against the proposed charge, with an outcry from residents and political opposition from elected officials - most notably Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, who campaigned against the fee last year as a first-time mayoral candidate" (Masslive.com). The article goes on to say, "Sarno has since flip-flopped on the issue." So, not only has he not done what he said he was going to do, he completely abandoned his previous stance and moved to another position. Now, Mayor Sarno wants to go around the city and recollect the trash barrels. How can you want to eliminate the old trash fee and less than a year later enforce a policy which would still be categorized under the old trash fee? Also, this proposed trash fee which was just another way to tax people, was a fee on top of the taxes Springfield residents already pay for trash removal since the Department of Public Works is also co-sponsored by our tax money. I hope some of the people whose barrels are collected go and dump their trash at the steps of City Hall.

Second, crime has flourished under the Sarno administration. The first link at the top of the page shows this. In 60 days, there are 1,101 "open cases" with none of them closed. Stopping crime was another platform Mayor Sarno propagated. As the crime rates and new stories about crime rise, Mayor Sarno is no where to be found. All you will get from Sarno probably is his stump speech about crime and how it effects the community. People are getting killed on our streets in broad daylight, i.e the fatal stabbing on Dickinson St. in the Forest Park section of Springfield. Also a young man is shot by the police and the current inept and incompetent District Attorney Bill Bennett decided not to investigate nor charge the officer involved. Where is Mayor Sarno's voice on these issues? No where. He is to worried about his next appearance or the next trip he has to take to Boston or making sure he shows Governor Deval Patrick every inch of downtown Springfield.

To combat crime, you "need" the police. So Mayor Sarno decided to hire William J. Fitchet as police commissioner. He is a 35 year veteran of the police force and he was in the narcotics task force and reportedly was the first one in when doing a drug raid. The Sarno/Fitchet alliance stated that crime was down 15% in Springfield. Then, no less than a week later, 1 person was killed and 9 other people were shot or stabbed. These incidents took place in late June. When asked about the recent rash in violence in the city, Police Commissioner Fitchet said, "It is what it is." I expect that quote from a professional athlete or a musician but for an "elected" official (the 5 member Finance Control Board actually hires the police commissioner; guess who is a member of that board, Mayor Sarno) that's more than non-chalant that's almost crossing the line of indifference. Whether the Mayor or Police Commissioner likes it or not, they have to at least make it seem like they care about people who are non-white. I know that may not be "politically correct" especially since those in power would say "Race is no longer an issue," but I'd say those people are dead wrong. And its not like this violent weekend has been the only blip on the radar. Every day someone is arrested for some kind of crime, mostly drug related. The crime statistics released early this year also claimed rapes were up 61%. Despite all the crime that is going on, Sarno/Fitchet would have you believe that the city is safer and headed the right way but its not. These two are worried about numbers only, even if the numbers are skewed, incorrect or just plain made-up.

Finally, I will mention the review board that was set-up under Mayor Charles Ryan that was built to review complaints made by citizens about police brutality or misconduct. The board has no power and all investigations are meaningless. All the power regarding discipline for police is wielded by the police commissioner. The Sarno Administration, since winning the election in 2007, has promised to set-up the citizens complaint review board. Since then, there has been a lot of crime, police shooting innocent people, the mayor's staff received a 2% raise for doing absolutely nothing and the city or our metropolitan area has been deemed dead. The review board finally had their first meeting on August 14, 2008. Over 8 months had passed and this administration couldn't even set up a lame-duck citizens review board. What are they going to do when really tough decisions need to be made. Mayor Sarno and staff (including P.C Fitchet) haven't done anything for Springfield. All they have done is collect a pay check. Our city officials need to start working with us, the citizens of Springfield.