Officers should pay for their own fitness

I agree with Councilman Aaron Del Mar that using unanticipated drug seizure funds for police fitness is excessive given the general state of the economy and the village budget woes.

There seems to be a pervasive attitude among elected officials, and administrators in particular, to spend every dollar they can get their hands on. In this case why not put this money in the general fund for village taxpayers?

Also, why is fitness equipment needed in the first place? Those on the front line of protecting the public should be required to be fit in order to qualify for their jobs and should not expect the taxpayers to foot the bill.

While many large corporations provide fitness centers for their employees they do it to remain competitive for the key talent that’s needed to run their enterprises, and their extent of benevolence is controlled by the marketplace. That’s not the case here where funds come from taxpayers who seldom are fully informed about the details of government expenditures.

Even if the drug seizure funds weren’t provided the village was still planning to buy the equipment from the facility budget. Taxpayers who want to stay fit pay for their own health club memberships, and the same should hold true for the police.

Finally, I’m presuming the new fitness center is for voluntary use before or after the assigned shift but not during an officer’s assigned shift?

Hopefully, the Inverness Police Department won’t follow the practice of their neighboring department.

Tom Snyder

Inverness