Second Anti-Crime Public Dialogue Oct. 12

A second public dialogue meeting on the Salisbury Safe Streets anti-crime legislation package is set for Tuesday, October 12, 6:30 p.m., in the training room of Fire Station 16 Headquarters on Cypress Street, Salisbury City Council Members Debbie Campbell and Terry Cohen announced today.

After a packed-house public meeting on the proposals was held September 15 in council chambers downtown, the two officials chose a site with more seating capacity and accessibility to the Westside, with a different week night to accommodate additional members of the public.

“In the wake of this week’s shooting spree, it is vital that we keep public engagement moving forward on these and related issues,” Cohen said. “Some of this legislation disappeared four years ago, and our police officers are furloughed while lesser priorities are funded. The public has a key role in overcoming these impasses.”

“Our previous meeting showed that Salisbury can have a productive dialogue about tough issues,” Campbell stated. “We received input and questions from a variety of stakeholders, so this meeting on October 12 will give us an opportunity to address those matters and allow others to weigh in when they couldn’t due to the size of the crowd.”

As reported in the Daily Times, local landlords dominated the first meeting. A show of hands among the landlords, tenants, homeowners and students in attendance indicated that landlords as a whole opposed the package in its entirety, while most city residents either supported the entire package or supported it in part.

Campbell and Cohen said they would soon release details of the format for this meeting to ensure that the process takes a forward direction and the public benefits from accurate information. In the meantime, they again encouraged the public to read the actual text of the anti-crime proposals, which address one segment of crime reduction through better housing practices and property management.

The legislation can be found under the link “Neighborhood Legislation Pkg” on the city website homepage at left, www.ci.salisbury.md.us, and on the website the two council members share, www.OnYourSideSBY.blogspot.com. Hard copies can be obtained by calling the city clerk’s office at 410-548-3140.

A three-hour audio recording of the first public dialogue meeting is available for free download or online listening from Campbell and Cohen’s website, or on CD from the city clerk’s office for $5, which covers the office’s cost of production. For additional questions or comments, contact Debbie Cambpell, 410-860-0893 and debbiescampbell@comcast.net, or Terry Cohen, 410-845-0296 and Terry@TerryCohen.com.