Community Chat

[CalminHeart]

What is a community?  Is it a metro area that includes multiple suburbs?

I don't think it's necessary for a police officer or firefighter to live in the same city where they work.  A lot of cities have multiple suburbs.  I do think it's good for them to live in the same metro area though.

I believe a politician should live in the part of the city, county, or state they represent.  They cannot adequately represent their constituents unless they know firsthand what's going on.  Even then, many still don't represent their constituents but that's another story.

[gidgetgh]

I don’t like the term “public servant”. 

My husband was a county employee for 32 years and worked as a firefighter. I considered him a public safety officer, not a servant. 

Turns out that we live in the county in which he was employed, but it wasn’t a necessity. It just turned out that way. Our county is large. The county government employs thousands of people. I’m sure many of them live outside the county. I’ve never given it any thought. The trash pickup in our county is done by private companies. 

I also have three friends whose husbands were firefighters. They didn’t live in the same county that they worked in. 

Now politicians?  Yes, they should live in the district in which they were elected. I would hope that’s already a requirement. 

[pigletsmom]

My father lives in the city where he was a firefighter. I figure at least my parents help pay the taxes for the stuff the union bargained for. Now when they complain about the taxes being to high I remind them of that pension and healthcare they get.

[chrystaltree]

Public servant????   If that means a police officer or fire fighter or paramedic; I think it's nice if those workers live in the towns they work in and I think they probably want to but today, it's isn't always possible for many reason.  First, there's the income thing.  A police officer who works in a wealthy town probably can't afford to buy a house in that town.  Ditto for firefighters, teachers, etc.  Just because you work for a town doesn't mean you can afford to live there.  Then there's the reality of availability of homes.  Even if they can afford something, that doesn't mean that they will find their dream home in that town.  Schools are another issue.  We owned a home in a very upscale town that got real hot with the high income set who building huge homes and mini mansions.  They all sent their children to private schools and they would never approve appropriations to spend money on improving or building schools.  They would build a $2M house and send their kids to $$$$ private schools and then whine, moan and groan and vote down tax increases because "we don't use the schools".   So, we had a rich town that had a troubled public school system and old schools.  People want good schools for their kids.