For more than a decade at this newspaper I’ve written endless news stories on every imaginable topic. Well over 1,000 of those dealt with incidents, issues and events pertaining to all aspects of public safety. And aside from the stories themselves, some of those occasions and others provided time to talk incidentally with police officers, deputies and firefighters, whether on the side of the road, in the aftermath of a fire, on a cart path, in a parking lot or the grocery aisle. Beyond the topics relating to a particular story I was writing, there were other topics that naturally arose during some of the conversations.
One of the things I learned along the way struck me in such a fashion that it compelled me to consider writing a different kind of story relating to public safety employees. It was a story I should have written two or three years ago. That said, the story has been written and was included in the Aug. 10 edition of The Citizen.
One of the topics to arise in some of those conversations dealt with where an officer or firefighter resides. While not uncommon for a public safety employee to live in a county other than where he or she works, I was struck over the years to find that so many of those who protect lives and property in Fayette County, about 66 percent based on information obtained from the cities and county, live in other counties, and especially in neighboring Coweta County. What came with that understanding was the reason why many do not live in Fayette. While sometimes a matter of choice, that decision for many dealt with a reason that is financial.
A question posed to approximately 40 police officers, deputies and firefighters (including ranking officers) living in Coweta, revealed that they moved there, began raising their families and remained there because they could not afford the home prices in Fayette. Though with some now making better salaries, they said they like Coweta and will stay where they are. They cited variables such as lower prices for virtually the same house, larger lots and cheaper taxes. As for schools, they know as do I, that the two high schools in east Coweta have average SAT scores higher than two, and sometimes three, of Fayette’s high schools.
Once settled in their communities, many forego moving to Fayette after they are established in their community, even after their rate of pay increases over time.
None of those I spoke with voiced any upset over the financial reality that exists. They were all quite happy where they are.
Salary levels for public safety staff are set by local governments. And, no, the purpose of this column is not advocating for higher salaries that result in higher taxes to property owners, though I believe higher wages are warranted. And for those of you who somehow profess see the timing tied to budget talks … breaking news … the budgets were already adopted prior to the story being published.
Since I began writing for Joyce Beverly’s former paper near Augusta 18 years ago, I’ve continued to find it amazing that we rely on a low-paid EMT to save our life in an accident on the side of the road so that we can be transported to a hospital to be treated by an ER nurse making twice their salary (and I’m taking nothing away from the fine work done by nurses).
Why do you think many cops and firefighters work two or more jobs?
With local salaries beginning in the $34-39K range, the reality is that many in public safety cannot “afford” to live in Fayette because “affordable housing” is usually quite lacking. The term “affordable housing” has been frequently used by some in Fayette and, whether we are willing to admit it or not, is sometimes a code word used when the real truth cannot be stated without running the risk of sounding quite biased (I’m being gracious by saying it that way).
That coding is what is used, not by all but by some, when we rage against the idea of “affordable housing” that would otherwise afford many good people the financial ability to live in this county. Some citizens in public meetings and on the street corner continue to proclaim that people living in apartments or in lower-priced houses are transients, low-class people, criminals, sex-deviants and should not be allowed to vote. And, yes, I’ve heard members of our community say those very things in public meetings and in private over the years.
The very blunt reality is that these sweeping generalizations are patently false. Put another way, “What a man were to be true he more readily believes.” – Francis Bacon, “Novum Organum” (1620).
When it comes to things like housing, the reality is that few people making what entry level school teachers, cops and firefighters make (all below $40,000) can afford a local mortgage or sometimes even local rent, especially if they are not married.
Perhaps they should just “aspire” to live here once they make more money and become financially worthy, by having ascended to an income level appropriate to what some vocal members of this community believe to be required in the Fayette Bubble.
The reality, despite the unwillingness on the part of some to address it, is that many in public safety who we rely on to save our lives and protect us from harm simply cannot afford to live in the community they serve. I’m far from the only one in The Bubble to find that reality to be sadly exclusionary.
Some of you make not like my perspective and may take issue with it. I say, go for it. But it doesn’t change the facts.
[Ben Nelms has been reporting the news in Fayette and Coweta counties since January 2005.]
