Obviously, the better way to find out what happens and what is said at any gathering of people, is to be there. Listen to what people are saying. Watch the Power Point presentation, if there are any. Look at who is saying what to whom. Observe who tends to sit with whom and who gathers together for small group discussion during breaks.

For those who were not in attendance at Tuesday’s Columbia Town Meeting, media reports and reports from those who attended become the source of information.

Here is one observer’s account of the town meeting: “Columbians seek to boost town’s quality of life.” – MyColumbiaNews

This is the third installment of Columbia news, news & reviews’ reporting of the note-taking of that meeting.

Police chief Jack Bromer followed the mayor’s Power Point presentation with his own Power Point presentation about the Columbia Police Department’s resources and statistics. The presentation included staffing numbers; call reports from the county’s 9-1-1 system; and the department’s upgraded weaponry. The mayor injected that the weapons were acquired at minimal cost to taxpayers; the new 40 mm hand guns and AR-15’s were obtained using grant funding.

The chief made references to the need for increased staffing. He spoke to the citations issued so far this year for dog violations; there’ve been 20.

The mayor and police chief agreed that speeding is a problem; the mayor said, “Ninth Street is a raceway.” The department is working on enforcement in town and on Routes 30 and 441. The mayor said the department will be getting “one-officer” radar speed abatement

The chief commented on his department’s responses to direct calls to the department as well as the recorded calls to the 9-1-1 system. He related actions and activities that the police department has been involved with; that list includes: making sure that the borough’s curfew is observed. The borough’s curfew ordinance appears online; it states, “The Borough Secretary/Treasurer shall provide notice of this chapter and of the curfew regulations established by it by having copies of this chapter posted in, on or about such public or quasi-public places as may be determined by the Mayor, the Borough Council and Police Department in order that the public may be constantly informed of the existence of this chapter and its amendments and regulations.”

“The Borough Council of the Borough of Columbia, recognizing the problem of crimes committed by and committed against juveniles during the nighttime and believing that it can be dealt with more effectively by regulating the hours during which minors less than 18 years of age may remain in public places and certain establishments without adult supervision and by defining more clearly certain duties and responsibilities upon those who have the custody and responsibility for the care of such minors, hereby enacts this chapter for the purpose of promoting the general welfare and protecting the general public through reduction of juvenile violence and crime within the Borough of Columbia, promoting the safety and welfare of the Borough citizens under the age of 18 years whose youth and inexperience renders them particularly vulnerable to becoming the participants in criminal activity and in being victimized by perpetrators of crime, and fostering and strengthening parental responsibility for children.

“The period of time between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. on Sunday through Thursday nights and 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights.”

The mayor railed against daytime “truancy.” He said, “We’re going to start asking kids” whether they’re supposed to be in school. The chief introduced a concept which would consider a “daytime curfew” during school days.

Both the mayor and the chief stressed that citizens should call 9-1-1 whenever they see violators of borough ordinances or state laws. The mayor encouraged citizens to call the borough to contest codes violations; ask questions and get clarifications.

The mayor suggested that the police department; the school board and the borough council “sit down again like we used to” to focus on resolving problems and issues. He said he’s going to recommend the three bodies work together to share information. He said there is a need to find out how many “kids” are coming out of each house in the borough. He posed that not every adult living in the borough may not be paying taxes. He continued that the borough and the school board may want to consider becoming more assertive when a business or residential property owner petitions for a tax reassessment; those reassessments ought to be challenged.

Property reassessment decisions are addressed each month by the County Property Assessment office and reflected in the minutes posted online here. A Columbia property, for example, was granted an “exemption will be effective beginning with the 2013-2014 School and 2014 County and Municipal tax years,” in the March minutes.

At another point in the meeting, a councillor retorted, “It’s our town. It’s time to take it back.”

The mayor continued by challenging those in attendance; he said, “When we meet again in six months” to see whether we’ve come any further in addressing any of these issues, you need to “kick our butts” if we’ve not addressed these issues. He said citizens need to “hold us accountable.”

Another councillor spoke up; the councillor wondered why ” if nothing’s changed in the past,” why should we expect anything to change.

The town meeting concluded as the mayor asked those assembled to meet again is six months.

As Columbia news, reviews & reviews has stated repeatedly, to gain first-hand insight knowledge about community and government workings and actions, citizens must participate. Without direct participation and involvement, awareness and knowledge about what’s happened is left to third-party sources … media reports; secondary sources (which often are verbal and “whisper-down-the-lane like”) or rumors. In accordance with state law, Columbia news, views and reviews digitally audio records all public meetings as a chronicle to events. If you would like a copy of the recording, email: 17512@mail.com.