Town and Country

I always have to explain to people from out of town that even though I say I live "in Baltimore," the fact is, I live in Baltimore County, a totally separate jurisdiction in every way, along with 831, 127 other hearty individuals spread out over 598 square miles.  We more or less engirdle the city of Baltimore, where 621,849 pack into 92 square miles.

Even at a cursory glance at those statistics, one can tell that the county has some wide-open areas and the city doesn't, and all those people living on top of each other (literally, in some cases!) means things are usually hopping in the city.

And I don't mean that in a bad way all the time. Lots of people like the hustle and bustle of city life, and that's fine for them. I prefer the rustle of semi-country life, and it just means everyone gets a choice.

And so do the men and women who protect people in the city- residents, people working there and visiting there. They are free to live where they wish. Of course, the City Council would prefer that more of them live within the city limits; these police officers, firefighters and paramedics make a decent dollar and add to a neighborhood in many ways. They are trying to pass legislation in the city to offer $2,500 in tax credits to cops, Fire personnel and sheriff's deputies who make their homes in Baltimore.

"This is a great tool to get more police officers in the city," Councilman Eric T. Costello, the lead sponsor of the legislation, told the Sun newspaper. "It’s about making sure they’re invested in the city. It’s a great tool for recruitment and retention."

The council reports that fewer than 500 of the 3,000 sworn police in the city live there, and the numbers are similar for the firefighters - not even 300 of the 1,400.

It would be a good thing to see those numbers go up, and naturally, the city fathers (remember when they called the council that?) met and spoke with Solomonic wisdom of the ways they could encourage these men and women to enjoy city living and shorter commute and that tax break. 

The president of the city council is Bernard C. “Jack” Young. He is a co-sponsor of the tax break bill, and he is also a man who wants to see a law passed that would force police to live within the city limits. 

"We need to figure out how we can force them to live in the city. This is madness," Young is reported by the SUN to have said at the council meeting discussing the tax bill. "They’re raping the city."

Later, Young told the newspaper he "regretted a poor choice of words," but insists that having so many officers living in the suburbs and others states is bad for city - where the property tax is more than double that of in the surrounding counties - and its finances.

I'll tell you what else is really bad for the city, and that is a city council president who equates a man or woman who does their honest week's work for the city, and just wishes to live where he or she and their families wish to live, with the violent, vile, horrible act of sexual assault.  

Young ought to spend some time riding along with police and paramedics to help him define his terms and get a better vision.  The City of Baltimore seems to lose a little more lustre every day, often being seen in a negative light because of high crime rates, poor schools, legions of homeless souls and derelict empty houses and buildings, income inequality and a drug culture that seems to overcome all attempts at control.

Having a man directing the City Council while making such preposterous statements is not a sign that the City will get better anytime soon.  

Sure, he took it back, but he said it in the first place.