14 FEB 05: SYNO-VISION

Imagine going to Columbus Bank and Trust, and finding a TV lounge with Internet computers. Top managers say that day is coming - which sounds to me like the wait for loan approval could become even longer.

Synovus Financial was the subject of a lengthy article the other day in the Atlanta newspaper business section. It disclosed a $10 million renovation plan is in the works, to change the look of all its bank branches. We don't know how many will get those handcrafted tables, showing details of Columbus history.

Synovus President Richard Anthony told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution the branch makeover will include several new things. Quoting from the article:

+ "Self-service kiosks." I remember when these things were called deposit slip tables.

+ "More open floor space." For $10 million, I'm not sure you can buy much marble flooring.

+ "Coffee bars." Now here's a big change! Years ago, banks gave you coffee-makers when you opened accounts.

+ "Lounges where customers can watch television or surf the Web while they wait." And if CNBC announces a Federal Reserve interest rate hike, you'll know it's time to leave.

Richard Anthony says the new look of Synovus banks such as CB&T will include bank personnel "walking the floor," and acting "as concierges." You could make a TV show out of this: "Extreme Makeover: Security Guard Edition."

Another Synovus executive explained the changes are needed because bank branches have been built with employees in mind, as opposed to customers. But really now - are bank customers asking for Internet computers to use? And what if they browse around, and find another bank has a better mortgage deal?

In other areas, Synovus plans to put its corporate logo on all its ATM's across the South. But we're told the names of community banks across Georgia will NOT change. It's tempting to offer a two-word response to that promise - Rich's-Macy's....

I didn't realize until I read this article that Synovus is the second-largest banking company in Georgia, in terms of assets. Imagine if it ever becomes number-one - the Synovus sign above the Riverwalk might go atop the building, and start blinking.

E-MAIL UPDATE: The rush of public safety messages seems to have eased in the last few days. Maybe that means everyone is back to doing their jobs as usual - the police officers, the Columbus Council members, and especially the e-mail writers.

We have a few leftover public safety e-mails to clear from the InBox. We begin with the now-famous "IsOurCitySafe," who obviously has cable TV:

I was watching City Council on television the other day when I began to notice that they had spent almost twenty or more minutes discussing how to better the process for the citizens of Columbus to complain about Police services. I tried to remember a time when they spent that much time discussing how to retain experienced officers, provide better pay, offer better retirement and other benefits. You know what? I don't think I have ever seen them spend even a quarter of that amount of time trying to figure out how to solve any of the problems with the Police Dept. I keep hearing that we have a plan for this and a plan for that. The truth of the matter is that there is no plan. CITY COUNCIL DOES NOT CARE! Have you ever thought about what would happen if a school shooting occurred? If you ask the Mayor, he will tell you that we have a plan. My question to the Mayor would be...Well sir, I understand that we have a plan to go in and get this school shooter. How are we going to go into a school and save the children when we don't have the equipment, there are only 12 Police Officers in the entire city, and we still have to answer 911 calls while saving the children? Are we going to call in off duty Police Officers to help? Good luck with that sir because moral is so low in the department, you aren't going to get any officers to come in on their off time to help out unless is it one of their children in the school. This is just one example of incidents that could occur that we aren't prepared for. But our fine city government says we have a plan. Would you please inform the Police of the plan because we aren't aware of any plan. So I ask the question...ISOURCITYSAFE?

Our writer seems to have an awfully short memory - because he/she spread an e-mail last month about off-duty officer McCarty actually stopping a kidnapping from a Columbus school. [23 Jan]

Perhaps IsOurCitySafe missed the analysis of public safety pay and benefits because it's more likely to occur away from Columbus Council meetings. Isn't that sort of thing done in private discussions in the City Manager's office -- with the ripping apart coming outside the Government Center, at a news conference?

As for "what would happen if a school shooting occurred" - I recall seeing local law officers doing drills over the years, to prepare for that very thing. Of course, all the officers we saw were AT the school. Their worried spouses might be at the 911 call center, staffing the phones to make sure they're OK.

From the same source comes another e-mail anecdote:

People are obviously talking about the cities problems. This citizen approached me out of the blue while I was out on a call at Walmart:

Giving the City Council more money with which to work would not necessarily solve our problem. They have not been good stewards of the money they have had to use in the past. They have lied to the citizens of Columbus about the amount of money that was available to get a sales tax passed and then suddenly discovered $14,000,000.00, they didn't know they had the week before. The first thing needed to straighten out the problems in public safety is honesty among the city leaders.

Now let's be fair - haven't YOU discovered money you didn't realize you had? The Government Center has all sorts of chairs and copying machines, where loose change can hide.

So what can be done to improve the lot of public safety workers? Our next e-mail goes quite a bit into detail:

i just received an email from a friend who wishes to remain anonymous...their response is as follows...i understand that this was put up to a vote and turned down but...

i am pretty sure, Columbus is the only city in the country that grandfathers (locks) property tax rates. I know it is on residential, and knowing the mentality, it could be on private and corporate as well. If the tax rate was changed to charge accordingly for property value on all citizens, in line with today's standard for surrounding cities of our size, the amount of money collected would more than settle the cities financial concerns. Case in point, he pays $1900 a year and it has been unchanged for 6 years. His neighbor residing for 17 years, similar property worth, pays $600 a year, year after year.

Done right, economic, sick and age exemptions could be attached to protect the less fortunate, sick and aged from an increased burden.

several other suggestions that i have pondered:

1. the super cars (fully equipped patrol cars) supposedly fully funded by the last splost. were they budgeted as a whole or just the vehicle without the equipment. Several new cars are on the street with outdated sirens, cages, and lights that were salvaged from previous fleet. Where is the extra money going from these parts that were budgeted for? Also, it is widely known that you get what you pay for. The video / audio systems are faulty, having to be placed in the shop on a regular basis. The audio feature is almost non existent. Of course it wasn't a concern until the Kenny walker shooting when city council was shocked that they could not hear what was on the video... The AVL (automatic vehicle locater) doesn't work. It is the norm that when attempting to activate this feature, it shows that the car is still in the parking garage or at the officers home. Some may try to say that it is not being activated properly, try it and you will see...

2. Why did the city invest in the Chevy impala as a patrol car? whomever was in on this, did they do their homework. Michigan St. Police, the leaders in the field of research, have done study after study on which vehicle holds up the best. Yes, the Ford crown Victoria cost more up front, but in the long run, with durability and functionality, it is cheaper. Also, maintenance is cheaper on the crown vic. the impala just will not hold up to the wear and tear of the daily activities of a patrol vehicle. Also, with all the equipment that we carry, it is nearly impossible to place anything else in the rear of the impala...for those of you that have one as a personal vehicle, do you have a donut spare tire or a full size? I am not saying that they are not good personal or administrative vehicles, just not patrol vehicles.

3. nearly every officer that has a supercar, has experienced this, nothing is more frustrating than having to start you work week by jump starting your patrol car because the battery is dead. The supposed experts advised the city "experts" that at least a second battery or larger alternator was needed to run the extra electrical equipment installed in the vehicle. Of course our "experts" thought otherwise. Again, was this feature included in the budget for the supercar?

4. why does the city allow its officers to wear equipment that is shown to be flawed? i.e, second chance body armor. they have recently declared bankruptcy because of a flaw, yet we continue outfitting our officers. has the city done any research on the safety of the body armor that it uses, and provide it to the officer to ease their concerns.

5. why is it that the only time the city council darkens the doorsteps of the public safety building is during election time? this goes back to my original suggestion, why do they not ride along. as a citizen i find it interesting that they refuse to even ride in the district that they represent.

6. why is the department still preforming funeral processions? don't the funeral homes charge the families for this, yet we take an officer off the street to provide this escort. It doesn't seem like a lot but there would be at least one more officer on the streets today if the police department did not escort funeral for free. why can't this be handled as a part time job....

7. why does the city continue to detail officers to manage the traffic at the fair...yet, those working inside the venue are doing so as a part time job, paid for by the fair. if the city forced the fair to hire off duty officer to handle the traffic think of the extra money that could be saved. or is this a case of the city charging the fair an exorbitant fee then paying the officers overtime.

8. why can't the city do like others and pay officers a percentage over their base pay who speak a second language. there are several nights that no one on the streets speak Spanish. if the city gave an incentive to the officers to speak a second language then we could provide a better service to the citizens.

9. not really a suggestion but, have you thought about this...because officers are working long hours to make ends meet do you think that they are taking care of themselves physically, not to mention do you think they have a chance to eat properly. yes, we have an over abundance of the stereotypical round officers who dine on fast food and donuts. but do you think that they are getting any physical exercise other than cinching up the gun belt or getting in and out of the car. not really a concern of city council right...now what happens when this out of shape officer gets in a foot chase, gets in a fight, or simply gets injured on the job. when you are not in good shape you take longer to recover, thus you are out of work longer and disability rates rise. so does the cost of health insurance. Now you have an officer that is not only injured but receives disability from the city, and they are paying a percentage of his/her health costs since this happened on duty. this is a hidden cost that very few think about until the family pays the ultimate cost...loss of a loved one from assault, injury, or health problems...

now for the question, the department has a budget for salaries for a full staff top to bottom. for years, there has been up to 40 shortages thoughout the police department alone. most of the time it is an average of about 20 a year. where is the money budgeted for those salaries going? and why is it when there is a budget crunch, and there is something the city wants they find the money for it, yet everything else is heaved on the backs of the citizens....

Uh-oh -- someone suggesting an end to the Columbus property tax freeze. Isn't that a little like the President suggesting changes to Social Security?

I didn't realize our police officers were riding in squad cars with "outdated sirens." What's the new thing in sirens for 2005? Can police play Green Day's "American Idiot" as they pull over a dumb criminal?

It's truly a problem when a police AVL isn't working properly. But if Columbus city officials negotiate properly, perhaps they can work out an alternative -- and get a group car discount from OnStar.

When it comes to using Impalas as patrol cars instead of Crown Victorias, this sounds like a good old "Columbus business" decision. After all, Bill Heard has dealerships from here to Arizona -- and it simply wouldn't look good for tourists to come to town and see police not supporting someone so famous.

Don't forget the safety questions that have surrounded Ford police cars in other cities, and which national newscasts have mentioned for years. Do "Crown Vics" lead to officers being "Vics" - as in victims?

Someone else suggested by e-mail that Columbus Councilors ride along with police officers on a busy shift. Muscogee County Judge Doug Pullen did this 30 years ago, as an Assistant District Attorney. I know this because Cascade Hills Pastor Bill Purvis had him say so on videotape recently - and I don't think Purvis plans to enter politics at all.

Talk about a touchy suggestion - no police handling funeral processions?! In Columbus, some of those processions might start rolling so fast that officers will have to show up to handle wrecks....

Bonus pay for speaking a second language is an interesting idea. Of course, officers might gain a different sort of fringe benefit - free dinners at El Carrizo restaurant.

We know plenty of police officers are in good physical condition, because we've seen them put to the test at the Georgia Police and Fire Games. Let's face it: the obstacle course runs look a lot more interesting on TV than the police billiard and bowling tournaments....

Now other fun and games from a springlike Sunday:

+ Seven buildings from the World War Two era were rolled from Fort Benning to the site of the new National Infantry Museum. Until the museum is ready to open, those buildings will make excellent hideouts for homeless veterans.

+ WCGT-TV 16 presented the live talk show "Out of Order." Host Nate Sanderson proved he was in charge, by banging a gavel on the talk show table! I can't wait to see former Judge Roxann Daniel fill in, when he goes on vacation.

(Nate Sanderson renamed North Korea's dictator several times, calling him "Lil' Kim!" I shudder at the thought of Kim Jung Il wearing a miniskirt....)

+ An annual celebrity quail hunt in Albany featured an appearance by TV's "Beaver," Jerry Mathers. This had to be a challenge - because if he shot over the daily limit, he couldn't blame any of it on Eddie Haskell.

+ The 47^th annual Grammy Awards featured an all-star cast singing "Sweet Home Alabama," and a performance by the Blind Boys of Alabama. Yet once again, the "Million Dollar Band" from Tuscaloosa was snubbed....

+ Instant Message to arena football's Philadelphia Soul: What do you mean, quarterback Tony Graziani is a "special player?" When he was with the Atlanta Falcons, he was a third-string player on a so-so team.

COMING TUESDAY: Why I'm avoiding the most obvious topic for this day.... and an e-mail complaint about the new library....

To offer a story tip, make a donation or comment on this blog, write me - but be warned, I may post a reply.

If you quote from this in public somewhere, please be polite enough to let me know.

© 2003-05 Richard Burkard, All Rights Reserved.