During the Thanksgiving holiday, I want to share my thanks and appreciation for each of you. I admire our community for it is one that is strong, caring, and committed to serving one another and supportive of our police department. We are a community where we continue to strive for diversity, inclusion, critical thinking, and freedom of speech by all. 

The law enforcement profession is going through a very difficult era.  The men and women of the Parsons Police Department view these challenges as an opportunity to provide exceptional customer service to our residents knowing how much support Parsons residents have demonstrated to our Department on a daily basis.

As we train new officers to join our ranks, our core policing staff are working extended 12-hour shifts with limited days off. Please recognize the sacrifice these men and women make every day to ensure your safety and the safety of our community. They have already exceeded the arrest total from last year of 681 criminals. So far this year 737 criminals have been removed from the streets of Parsons. Nearly 4,000 people have visited the front lobby at YOUR police department; dispatchers have processed almost 23,000 requests for service.

Unfortunately, we have had a handful of injuries to officers this year, some required surgery. From sprains, torn ligaments, knee and back injuries - assaults on officers are up here and across the nation. Please keep my staff in your thoughts and prayers throughout the holiday season which is a busy time for law enforcement nationwide.

Thanksgiving is an opportunity to realize that we have much for which we can be thankful. This truly American holiday allows us to focus on our blessings and the freedoms we enjoy. It's inspiring to see the men and women of the Parsons Police Department working to help make our community a better place. Thanks to everyone for your contributions to our wonderful community.

Please consider a donation to the Parsons Shop-With-A-Cop Program this season. Mark your calendar to attend the Main Street Christmas Concert on Saturday, December 3rd at 7 pm at the Parsons Municipal Auditorium. The performance is free, but a freewill offering will be taken to raise funds for the Parsons Police Shop-With-A-Cop Program.

You can also make a donation yourself, as a business or as a civic or social organization to support the holidays needs of children and families who need help to ensure that every child enjoys the spirit of Christmas.

Donations can be dropped off or mailed to:

1. Parsons Police Department - 217 Central, Parsons, KS 67357
2. Parsons City Hall - Water Dept - 112 South 17th, Parsons, KS 67357

On behalf of all of the members of the Parsons Police Department, know that we are honored to serve you, and we would like to wish you a Happy, Safe and Sane Thanksgiving!

Thank you for your support!

Robert Spinks, MA, MS

Chief of Police

The Parsons Police Department operates its own 911 Dispatch Center. This allows for the front lobby of the police department to remain open 24-hours-a-day. Dispatchers are also crucial in monitoring the CCTV feed from the agency's 6 cell Lock-Up. A Lock-Up can hold a prisoner for up to 30 days while a Jail can hold a sentenced prisoner for up to a year.

Parsons Police Dispatch is busy and its on track to beat the 2021-year record of handling 34,724 incoming phone calls while dispatching 25,625 incidents along with answering 1,935 9-1-1 calls. Dispatch also greeted an estimated 4,500 persons who visited the police front lobby.

"The nerve center of the Police department is our dispatch center," says Lt Jason Ludwig. "Marti Shields is our Dispatch Director, and we work together to ensure that calls are received and dispatched, but there is a host of infrastructure to maintain. Transmitters, storm sirens, connection to the state radio system, computers and video monitoring are costly and time-consuming. Dispatchers not only manage calls and dispatching of police, but they are the first contact citizens have when they come to the lobby of the police department."

Shields has been on a continuous training cycle with new dispatchers. The competition among 9-1-1 centers to recruit and retain dispatchers is just as fierce as it is for departments recruiting police officers.

The complete remodel and update to the Parsons dispatch center in 2020 brought the center into the 21st century.

"The upgrades to the dispatch center have been well received by our staff. New equipment updated

dispatch stations, new wall mounted monitors and upgrades to our dispatch software make the work environment so much better," said Shields. "It can be an extremely busy part of the police department where dispatchers are truly the 1st Responders. 1st Responders - it usually all starts right here."

Veteran's Day, celebrated on November 11^th every year, is a tribute to military veterans who have served in the United States Armed Forces. It is a day of remembering the sacrifices of those who have fought to protect our country.

This special day is set aside to honor US veterans and victims of all wars. This holiday is a celebration to honor America's veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.

As the Son of a Pearl Harbor Survivor, my Father was serving on the USS Ralph Talbot, a destroyer that was anchored just off of battleship row in Pearl Harbor Bay on December 7, 1941. So Veterans Day is of special importance to me.

The Men and Women of YOUR Parsons Police Department are humbled by the bravery and courage of the veterans in our community and our country - they are our neighbors, our friends, our families, and our loved ones. We want to thank all our veterans and their families for keeping our country safe.

I especially want to reconize those Veterans who are on our police staff:

Lt. Jason Ludwig - US Navy 1997-2001, engineman third class; US Army 2004-2006, combat engineer, one tour in Iraq.

Sgt Brice Dickens - US Army 2008-2017, military police.

Cpl Kyle Shields - US Marine Corps, 2011-2016, military police, one tour in Afghanistan.

Officer Mark Raney - US Marine Corps, 1986-2010, retired Major, multiple deployments.

Officer Blake Sanchez - US Army, 2017-2019, E-3.

Officer Sean McCullough - US Army, 2014-2018, Sergeant, Afghanistan.

Dispatcher Marshall Sills - US Army, 2007-2008, Combat Engineer

We strongly encourage everyone to think of our veterans and thank them when you see them. We support and honor our veterans, not just on Veteran's Day but every day of the year.

Tuesday, November 8th is a big day for a host of issues. The Public Safety Sales tax is a big issue - not to just help build a future Public Safety Center but to also provide competitive wages, recruit/retain experienced police officers and firefighters, purchase a new fire truck, police and fire training, safety equipment and capital equipment.

For the past quarter century Parsons has been a training ground churning out trained police officers and firefighters for other departments in Kansas. Since 2009, nearly 100 police employees have left for better paying police and private sector jobs. That has been a huge loss in training and knowledge and a huge loss to our community.

How much more effective YOUR fire and police department would be if both were fully staffed with trained and experienced men and women.

The recent cycle of cherry-picking of police and fire staff to higher paying agencies has hit hard. The current labor market has made 1st Responders a valuable commodity here and across Kansas and the nation.

When fully staffed, Parsons PD should have 26 officers. Twenty would be assigned to Patrol, four to Investigations and two to Administration. Today, 10 officers are working patrol, and investigations is currently unstaffed.

To provide 3 patrol units 24/7 requires the staff to work mandatory overtime working three 12-hour days with two off. That can total up to 24 hrs of overtime a week. That is not a sustainable operation either from a budget or family life perspective.

The Public Safety Sales Tax vote on Tuesday will allow the police and fire departments to retain staff as career employees.

Learn more at:

https://www.parsonspd.com/blog?id=44

Note: This factual information does not propose either a yes or no vote. This information is provided as a public service in compliance with state election laws.

Throughout the last nine years, the one-half-cent Public Safety Sales Tax has helped the city keep increased costs of infrastructure off the backs of City residents by reducing the risk of increases from being dumped onto the general city property tax. This small equally distributed sales tax, has allowed the City to cover the cost by funding new fire trucks, police patrol cars, upgrades to the police/fire radio system, modernization of the dispatch/911 center and other critical emergency and City wide infrastructure.

This special, voted on by the citizens, sales tax reduces the cost burden that residents would otherwise shoulder through traditional property taxes. An equally distributed sales tax allows city residents as well as those who visit the community or those who shop in the city but live outside the city to contribute to sustaining these emergency and other City services.

On Tuesday, November 8th, Parsons' voters will be asked to increase the current one-half-cent sales tax to a one penny sales tax effect on January 1, 2024. The extended Public Safety Sales tax will run over a ten-year period. The sales tax initiative, if passed, will continue to fund police and fire capital needs (fire trucks, patrol vehicles, rapid response systems). It will also provide substantive funding for a new City of Parsons Public Safety Center that will house the Parsons Police Department and the Parsons Fire Department. In addition to helping ensure that first responders have salaries and compensation comparable to surrounding communities.

The current public safety sales tax has been in effect for 9 years and will sunset on December 31, 2023.

According to Brad Boss, Parsons Fire Chief, "The cost to replace old fire equipment is significant, if we don't maintain a positive ISO rating we risk increased insurance costs that could hit Parsons' residents in the pocketbook." The Public Safety Sales Tax has and would continue to ensure that we meet the standards set by the Insurance Services Office (ISO). Since 2015, The City of Parsons has been able to maintain an ISO Fire rating of 3, ISO ratings go from a high of 1 to the worst score of 10.

The Parsons Fire Department maintains a Class 3 rating placing the City of Parsons in the top 7 ½ % of the states 948 rated fire departments. (1) Something every citizen can be proud of.

"Both Parsons' fire and police department's employees have been lured away by private industry and other police and fire departments offering a higher pay structure," said Parsons Police Chief Robert Spinks. "This is a continuing challenge, which has plagued our city for as long as 25 years where both departments have averaged a 20% annual loss of staff to other employers," Chief Spinks continued, "It is about wages and total compensation. With the current challenges facing employers, recruitment and retention have got to be a priority for the City first responders. The Public Safety Sales Tax will provide resources to ensure that our two departments at least have parity to the surrounding agencies in Southeast Kansas."

1.     according to Verisk @ www.isomitigation.com/. The Public Safety Sales Tax contributes toward maintaining this high rating