Rialto Police Funding OK'd (SB Sun 08062006) Rilato Awaiting New Cruisers, Comptuers.

The funding that Rialto has just OK'd is the funding that was supposed to have been approved back Five (5) Years ago, when they were Thought that they would try to go to San Bernardino County Sheriff Department for Law Enforcement Duties. A Contract that didn't happen, and now they are approving to Replace a Car that is quoted in the News story as this

They are Finally Replacing Five (5) to Seven (7) Years old Cruisers (Police Cars) that are patroling our highest crime areas with computers that are not mounted.

I don't know if you remember for a long time there we used to get the paper and they said for days that the Police Deaprtmetn was driving in Patrol Cars that didn't have basic Maitenence done to them, Now they have, but wow, long over due, and some of them are running terrible I guess they were. I cannot imaging that they did that...ha ha ha ha ...However back in 1991, 1992. I drove R-86. R-86 was the oldest Patrol car that we had, and I was ordered by the Sgt. to take it to the city yards, because they had been trying to Take the car out of Service, so they could paint it white and use it for the City Volunteer's well I didn't know that they were going to do that, I had a car that was well maintained by me. no one else was driving it becase it was old and had the old Square...the square Light bar, not the fancy airodynamic ones that were out. Anyway No one drove that car it was always clean and gassed up ready for me to use it. I was sad to see it go. Then I had to share a car with someone a slob that worked on Graveyard, because they didn't pick up their coffee cups and the like. the begining of my shift was spent Cleaning out that damm car!!

Well, back to this situation, the city has drug their feet holding onto that Money that the collected from the Citizens of Rialto for the Utilities, and now they have a Car/Truck/Police Vehicles to spend it on. For the last Five years that they Utility Tax has been in place they have had nothing to spend it on but the Fire Department.

They gave them Everything that they requested on their contract negotiations. Then the purchased them a Brand new 110' ladder Truck, and three Engines, and I thought a Water Tender and a tralor that has the Scott Air Bottle Refill, or Scuba Tank Breathing Apparatus Pressurization process. I would say total spent $17Million guessing Now??

So, now that they are back on track and treating All City Departments Equilly, it is a good thing!!, needless to say - I am glad that they approved the new cars and are going to clean up the Police Departments Vehicles. OH! I would give my right arm to drive a unit again. I guess In my dreams. I all is like a dream now.

I just hope that the City Administrator, City Council Members, and the city Lawyer and Clerk don't try to get one passed the City's Voter's again. because, they are really someone that should be feared that they take out after the monies that everyone has and we will see what will happens.

The tugging of the purse strings are always a bad sign espeically here in Rialto,

BSRanch

Rialto Funding OK'd
Rialto awaiting new cruisers, computers
Robert Rogers, Staff Writer

RIALTO - Sgt. Randy De Anda and his Multiple Enforcement Team of four officers know what it's like to get the job done under difficult circumstances.

Six months ago, when dissolution of the Police Department seemed likely, they were pulling overtime shifts while their colleagues were turning in their badges.

Today, they are policing the city's two most high-crime sectors in 5- to 7-year-old cruisers without mounted computers.

But De Anda is at ease. He knows he and his team are about to get some new tools to do the job.

The City Council on Tuesday approved a $71,923 increase in funding to bring the total for 29 new police vehicles to $684,825.

The council also gave the go-ahead to the Police Department's request for $354,140 to equip the vehicles with modern technology, including mobile data computers.

"The equipment upgrades make us more effective at keeping the city safe," De Anda said. "The computers, for instance, will allow us to eliminate the step of running names through dispatch and instead run our own names for information."

Although the fleet of regular patrol cars has mounted computers, some unmarked cars and special cruisers, like the ones used by Multiple Enforcement Team members, do not.

It's a hindrance not to have them, De Anda said, because the team is charged with the task of patrolling East Jackson Street and the Willow-Winchester complex, two known havens for gang members and drug dealing.

Funds for the new equipment were originally approved after a recommendation by interim Police Chief Frank Scialdone in June. Tuesday's action authorized funding for three more cars for traffic enforcement.

The Police Department should have 29 new vehicles within 12 months, including 12 patrol cars, four multiple enforcement units, three K-9 units, five administration vehicles, three traffic cars, a command vehicle and an animal-control truck.

The upgrades are part of a larger rebirth of the department, which the council had voted to disband in September before backing off in the face of public pressure. New Police Chief Mark Kling is expected to take his post later this month.