For those who are not well informed and do not read the Era. According to the Era the hanging baskets are paid for with donations.

Well, I guess when you make an inviting cozy environment for a pest, then it doesnt take much to get an infestation. A bugeoning welfare industry, a convienent welfare office, and city officials who either lack the stomach to deal with the problem, are in denial, or actually want the scummers and wellies here. Combine this with going soft on slumlords and private owner slobs, having an understaffed CE department, and the police out in the townships answering calls, and you are going to have scummers, lots of scummers, and they are going to infest Bradfords downtown despite the merchants best efforts to keep them out... They have nothing else to do after they roll out of bed mid day, than to fire up the strollers and point them towards main street. I feel sorry for the Main street merchants. Short of fencing off the business district, this has to be dealt with from the top, a tough police presence is your only answer. When your house is infested you call an exterminator, but City Hall isnt answering their phone...

I hate scummers, reliefers, ne'do'wells, wellies. whatever you want to call them, I dispise them! Round um up, sterilize them, send um to work shoveling garbage in the streets. Sick of ppl defending them. They ARE human garbage. I don't feel sorry for them, empathize with them, tolerate them! That's my opinion!

Ok, know it all ..... who waters them and with what equipment?

Have they always been "free for the city" or did our tax money buy them in the past?

Here is a good question .... How many people shop in downtown Bradford BECAUSE of the hanging baskets?

And what percentage of people are willing to ignore dirty swearing mutants because we have beautiful hanging baskets?

Very good post Shadow! Very well said.

Apparently there are *some elements* in town that want to pretend they don't exist!

The mayor and city council should vote to have sand boxes put all along Main Street ..... for the people to put their heads in!

And the OECD could erect quaint little signs on old fashioned looking poles with signs that read "put your head in the sand and you wont hear the scummers swearing" (nor will you smell them!).

And yet, who pays the two guys who go around every morning, even if it's raining (not much rain this summer, but last summer there was plenty), and water the hanging flower baskets? Is their pay also a donation? does anyone know?

For those flower beds that have been violated by scummers, I suggest the owners plant ONE MORE time. Poison Ivy, Stinging nettle, and hogsweed should do it! Let them pull those out!

You forget some of these people are covered from head to toe with piercings and tattoos that *may not have been done* in the cleanest of circumstances! AND some of them may live in houses and apartments that may not be among the cleanest homes in town. They may be immune to the effects of Poison Ivy, Stinging Nettle, and Hogsweed, OR they may just not notice the blisters at all! They may blend right in!

Should we least forget that the city police have a budget of 1.7 million dollars and the fire department a 2.2 million dollar budget. Both departments can make a presence on main street. Foster Township should be show casing their $400,000.00 police department around the mall and Walmart area on the beat instead of the local eateries. The police should be on the beat and not in the seat!

Wow Patton, those are some big budgets, If they arent going to use those all those resources to enforce local ordinances, then what are they for?

The budget for the month of June for the City of Bradford Police Department was $93,192.80. $75,595.96 was wages and health benefits ($19,486.87). That is $907,151.52 a year in wages and health benefits. At least the city has their budget and expenses on the net. Foster Township is struggling with transparency.