What a short memory our Poulsbo police have. It was four years ago the people of Poulsbo came together as Save Poulsbo P.D., to help them keep their jobs and stop Mayor Quade from contracting their services to the Sheriff’s Office.

In today’s economy, for many individuals, businesses and cities making ends meet is hard to do. This is true with the City of Poulsbo as there have been deep cuts, pay freezes and layoffs.

I can’t believe the officers of the Police Department are refusing to negotiate a contract that doesn’t contain large pay increases. They should be glad they still have jobs and if they care about the city the way they said four years ago, they would accept a pay freeze and talk about raises in the future when the economy is better.

They also have so many perks that the average person doesn’t have and really doesn’t know about that make their jobs better than those in private industry. For example, they take home their cars and SUVs even if they don’t live in the city. That’s using city gas so they can go home. The cars and SUVs they have are low mileage vehicles getting about 12 miles to the gallon. Why do we need these interceptors in a town the size of Poulsbo? A higher-mileage car such as the Chevrolet Impala, which gets more than 20 miles per gallon and is driven by other departments would be more appropriate.

They pay no premiums for their health insurance and only 10 percent for health insurance for their dependents. Their insurance deductible is only $100, when most individuals pay between $500 and $1,000 for the same coverage.

Do the Poulsbo police officers really care about Poulsbo or just themselves?

Gary Greenfield
Poulsbo