Is this L.A. or A.L.? The suggestion that the loss of one police officer will make the public and police less safe has this lifelong resident wondering: less safe from what? While I have no grievance and take no pleasure in anyone losing a job, I firmly believe that the public sector should reflect the private sector not only in the number of employees but also in salaries, pensions and perks. Our private sector has taken a beating.

I was going to fault the Tribune for a lack of facts, but the Feb. 3 editorial sounds like the city has a problem with transparency.

1. With a population of 17,300, how many officers do we currently have? How many when the population was 19,000 and 21,000?

2. Are there state guidelines as to officers per capita? If half of us are middle age and older, are they different?

3. What is the true cost: salary, benefits, cars, equipment and office space.

4. Is crime increasing? If so, what kind of crime?

5. Is there crime going on that we, the taxpayers, and hence the bosses, are not being informed of ?

Thankfully, we live in A.L. I’ve been to L.A.; you couldn’t pay me to live there.

Doug Schultz

Albert Lea