Dear Editor,

This strange council.

The Oakdale City Council is a strange one that abuses its own police force in more ways than one. Consider the strange words of a council member who voted on June 6th, 2011, “yes” for the current matter of increasing sales taxes with these words: Councilman Tom Dunlop said, “I have my misgivings. I may be the person fighting this tooth and nail all the way to the election. I don’t know where I stand” on raising taxes.

But this is the same Tom Dunlop who forced the Police Union to give $2,500.00 toward a $15,000.00 “study and survey” by a company sure to approve the new tax. So, it seems to me, we can’t trust him.

This is the same Tom Dunlop whose term is up in 2012.

Yet, our council members are all the same, an unusual situation in any city. They claim to be “pro-police” at the same time they insist on spending any new tax income on whatever strikes their fancy, not Police, and that is the way the tax increase ballot is written. It is all general fund money.

This strange council does the strange thing of formally giving some kind of award to a crazy person. For what?

This strange council has ruined our own city’s proud letterhead, by adding to it the letterhead of the Stanislaus Board of Education. Something about civility when at the same time council is attacking own citizens with a tax increase which I fear will not all go to the Police.

This strange council is seeking a $4,000,000.00 skate park. The good news is it would be from a state grant, they hope. The bad news is that our city does not have money to maintain such a massive thing.

Mayor Pat Paul who was supported in her election race in 2010 by trusting citizens, has managed to replace them with mistrusting citizens, a recent development.

This letter-to-editor is intended to be about guns. The guns the Police Officers carry on and off duty. Properly trained and motivated, they can do whatever is necessary regarding the Oakdale fight against gangs.

Police funding should be a protected percentage of city income, and only subject to change by the electorate. We are not talking about pensions and benefits, we are talking about guns and those willing to bear them for us.

The sales tax increase would represent the childlike waste of this strange council if we vote “yes” in November. So, vote “no.” We can then unite the city in a Police funding measure. The Oakdale PD could lead a carefully constructed REGIONAL Police Organization serving Riverbank, Oakdale, and Waterford. One Chief, not three.

This strange council will hear on July 5, 2011, the matter of their own actual vote on the ordinance necessary to place the sales tax increase before citizens in November, 2011. Nothing has happened, yet, to cause an election regarding sales tax increase. But, it could on that date.

Attend the July 5, 2011 meeting of this strange council and encourage them about the guns, and ask them to vote “no” on the ordinance. We need Police Officers out there for us, the Officers and the guns. Otherwise we will not survive.

Larry Kay