The people of Bossier City are talking, is anyone listening?

Just a few of the remarks from the Facebook group
Save our Bossier City Police and Firefighters:

• My home backs up 30 yards to Red Chute Bayou just south of Dogwood trail. This morning, my home and street are dry and I still don't understand how this is possible! Thanks to the focused organization of the US Air Force of Barksdale, Army, and National Guard, and help from the BCPD . . .
• Thanks to all the Bossier City Police working Greenacres Place during the storm! You guys have really been awesome - we appreciate!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• Save our men and women in Blue and firefighters...they deserve the BEST!
• Bossier city has the lowest crime rate in the state according to many statistics.... why would anyone want that to change? Laying off such a high amount of patrol officers and firefighters just isn't a smart decision. Cut budgets elsewhere!
• Last weekend my car broke down on ART and McDade! It was 1:45 A.M. My friend and I had been shopping in Shreveport. We were so scared and who do you call at 1:45 A.M.??? A wonderful BCPD Officer showed up, went WAY out of his way to help and then took us to safety!!! This is no where in his job description. . . I pray the budget cuts are made somewhere else.
• Our Bossier Police and Firemen are very important to us. We need them.
• Thanks guys for a job well done!
• This is God's way of saying this is not were we need to do BUDGET CUTS PLEASE LISTEN!!!!
• Dear Mayor Walker...I sure am glad that we had an extra 60+ police officers and fire fighters on hand last night during the tornados. God speaks to us in LOTS of ways. Perhaps...this was his way of saying...WE REALLY NEED THOSE GUYS AND GALS! PLEASE take note...and pray about your decision. When God speaks...LISTEN!
• Thank you BCPD and BCFD for your hard work and dedication....you showed all of us Thursday night you are there for us.....We are here for you as well.
• God is watching over them!!!!
• Thank god the city of bossier has such great firemen and police officers to help protect the city and assist citizens during the weather situation today and this evening. Why on earth does it make any since to lay any of them off, imagine how bad things would be if we were missing 80 personnel tonight
• Cut the police and firefighters and give raises to the mayor's office?? Let's get the priorities straight....Thank you for your service!
• Let's make cuts starting with those who missmanaged the money in the first place.
• The mayor and his staff should be ashamed.
• With Bossier being in debt and cutting needed police and firemen how can the city afford pay raises for the Mayor's staff which should have seen the same cuts as the other departments if the mayor sees cutting our work force as his only means of controling the debt?? I support keeping our firemen and policemen ,we need them!
• All those who have protected and served Bossier....is this what they deserve? I think not....
• As much flak as our police get in the local media, they are an outstanding agency. Our low crime rate in the city is a direct result of people not wanting to mess with the BCPD and the professionalism and skill they posses. When will people learn that progress is made by growth and expansion, not shooting yourself in the foot?
• Lets save these jobs so they can continue to protect our wonderful city. Let some of the big wigs take pay cuts or cut back somewhere else but not with our police or firefighters.
• I can think of a lot of ways to cut spending without cutting fire and police. To the city council and the mayor, you need to get your heads out of the sand and think this through. You people have spent alot of taxpayers money on things like Cyber Command, etc and now you want to put our safety in jeopardy to fix your mess?
• IT IS CRITICAL THAT WE SAVE THESE JOBS.. WE CANNOT AFFORD TO LOSE GOOD MEN AND WOMEN..
• Police and Firefighters protect the citizens.....of course we should keep every one of them. Who could possibly think otherwise???
• We love our Bossier City police and firefighters!
• Mayor Walker should stop and realize that people are moving to Bossier due to our great police and fire departments. Cutting our safety elements will cost Bossier in the long run when our current reputation for safety vanishes. Bad financial decisions should not cost the working men of Bossier their jobs! We ask the City Council to please vote against this and find other ways to restore the budget.
• Bossier police and firefighters are a cornerstone to this city. They are key members to any community.
• I do not ynderstand the concept of rolling back property taxes because of rapid growth in the city. Rapid growth means more people,homes,and businesses. This requires more city services, not less. I can see not raising taxes but not cutting them.
• Thank you to all who put their lives on the line for us every day!!!!! God Bless all of you!
• We need our police and firefighters!!! Praying for wisdom!!!
• Public safety should NEVER be the FIRST place they look when it comes to budget cuts. I am positive that there are other areas that could trim down. What is Lo thinking??
• It doesn't make sense to use the very people who are there to protect, serve and save citizens used to salvage a shortage that certainly wasn't their doing. I can't think of anyone besides a physician that is more important to a community. Isn't there an auditor that could have foreseen this problem long before the problem became critical?
• Before you can offer a salution to this shortage problem, you must first see what caused the shortage. I hope in the next few weeks this shortage is published and a fix found. Then a impartial manpower study done with private funds so the citizens will know. No longer do we trust out Government to do the best thing for us. Good luck.
• We all understand that these are tuff economic times...but somehow our priorities are sooooo skewed! Cut-backs on things that can wait, are extraneous, even unnecessary...But NO! NO! NO!, not on those who are most vital to our well-being as a community...our firefighters and policemen . . .
• we moved here 4 1/2 years ago and until now this is the most I have seen out of our so called Mayor. I totally agree with so many of you about him taking a pay cut but we all know that the big dogs don't do that. Where are all of our tax dollars going? We have had property tax increases and the city is part of it.
• We're praying for each of our fire and police officers. The city council needs to see how important these men and women are to their city, more important than spending the money on updating a water park.
• Our prayers are with all Firemen and Policemen. Their jobs are to important to let this happen.