17512 Columbia

eyes in the sky & elephant’s eye & in a pig’s eye

This week we surveyed the other four boroughs in Lancaster County which, with Columbia, constitute the “top five” most populous. We asked these three questions:

  1. How many surveillance cameras monitor public spaces in your borough?
  2. Does your chief of police attend monthly borough council meetings?
  3. On average, how many citizens attend a borough council meeting?

You may or may not be surprised by the results. We have stressed repeatedly that “trust” is the key element in a democratic republic style of government. Citizens “trust” that the folks they elect to represent their interests will do that. The elected “public servants” will consider all sides of the issues that will impact their constituents and they will be diligent in their stewardship of the community’s interests. They will recruit trustworthy, honorable, capable and ethically correct people to effectively manage the municipality’s day to day operations. And that is exactly what happens … mostly.

So how many surveillance cameras operate in the top five boroughs? In Ephrata, Elizabethtown, Lititz and Millersville. Zero! None! Zilch!

Columbia has more than 25 operating (?) surveillance/spy cameras! With no documentation or accountability to or for its citizens! What is the justification for the paranoia?

In each of these boroughs (Ephrata, Elizabethtown, Lititz and Millersville), the head of the police department does attend the monthly borough council meetings; in Columbia, it is the sheriff, AKA mayor, who evidently assumes the role of chief of police … because the police chief does not attend the monthly meeting. Why has Columbia paid a high salary for a police chief and not expected the position to be accessable, accountable and reportable to the citizenry at council meetings?

Here’s where the issue of trust comes front and center. On average (barring any volatile, incendiary or topical issue), the citizen turnout at borough council meetings is dismally low; most reported numbers from four to 1o. By not attending open meetings, citizens abdicate their rights to debate issues and topics; they entrust decisions to their elected “public servants” and the hired staffs.

We wonder whether this “hands-off” approach by citizens works better in communities with or without surveillance cameras? We wonder whether this “hands-off” approach by citizens works better in communities wherein the leader of law enforcement is visible and approachable in open forums or not? Maybe it is because there are weekly newspapers in three of these boroughs? Maybe it is because, in four of the boroughs, the Websites offer simpler and greater transparency in navigation? Maybe it is the linking to friendly borough service providers; maybe these four boroughs get it: government exists to provide services for citizens? For example, links to four of the boroughs’ police departments do not show the mayor as a member or leader of the department (that only is the case in Columbia).

We wonder …   

In Oklahoma, “The corn is as high as an elephant’s eye, an’ it looks like it’s climbin’ clear up to the sky.” … yep, that’s true here too.

Ah-h-h, yes, the “zero tolerance” borough. But then again, maybe it is legal to park a car on the sidewalk. The borough code states, “§ 207-68, It shall be unlawful to park any trucks, whether or not connected to trailers, trailers not connected to motor vehicles, and construction equipment on streets, sidewalks and all abutting public rights-of-way owned by the Borough of Columbia. This prohibition shall not apply to: A. Trucks and/or trailers parked for four hours or less during delivery, loading or unloading procedures.”

We could not locate any reference to a statute or code at the borough Website concerning the issue of parking cars on sidewalks in the code; so it may be OK to do it? Anyone know?

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