“Cobb County Braves” and Public Safety

The transition of the Braves Stadium from the City of Atlanta to Cobb County will probably be hailed as the best kept secret for all of 2013. Although the thought of having professional baseball in our backyard sounds appealing, nothing comes without a price. While most individuals are thinking about the impact of traffic and congestion on the I75 and 285 corridors, there seems to be little discussion of the possible impact on our law enforcement officers and the safety of businesses and citizens in the surrounding areas.

Our Cobb community is protected by the joint operation of the Cobb County Police Department, Georgia State Patrol and municipal police departments. Resources are already stretched across the county. Cobb County Police Department continues to have difficulty fully staffing its precincts and divisions across the county. The City of Marietta just passed a $68 million bond referendum to help eliminate crime and poverty on the Franklin Road area. With any project that entails thousands of individuals coming to our county, associated with that could be a great stress on an already overworked public safety department. It takes over a hundred traffic officers to protect and work traffic at each and every Braves game. Do the agencies in our county have the man power to dedicate to these functions? In light of protecting the safety of residents and businesses surrounding the arena, will there be additional law enforcement available? If the county is required to hire additional law enforcement officers, will taxes be raised to fund these additional officers? It was just a little while ago that county employees, including public safety, were furloughed due to lack of funding. How long has it been since county employees saw their paychecks increase? Is another bond referendum right around the corner to pay for this new stadium?

In addition to the manpower needed just to staff the games, what about the protection of the individuals surrounding the area? Will traffic prohibit the officers and emergency personnel from reaching citizens who are injured or victims of crime? With every major event comes an increase in traffic violations and other significant and minor violations such as driving under the influence, vehicle break-ins  and possibly more serious crimes. Do we have the resources to ensure that our police departments can handle this additional burden? Compare Town Center Mall at Christmas time where there is an explosion of car thefts, shoplifting, accidents and alcohol related violations.What about the court system? Is the prosecutor’s office and clerk’s office staffed to handle this new “business?” Where are we going to find additional prosecuting investigators and court personnel?

Everyone has an opinion on the value of the Braves move to Cobb County. I just hope that our county government evaluates not only the generation of revenue but also the impact on the quality of life of all Cobb residents. Let’s not mirror our federal government and jump to act before we know the resources are available to solve traffic, public safety, court and other issues that arise when you bring thousands into our bedroom community.

For more information about my campaign please visit www.cindiyeager.com