Hi Mike!
 -=> Quoting Mike Mccann to Neal Godfrey <=-
 MM> Metro has classes for trainees such as you ask and also does lateral
 MM> entriy classes. Even experienced PO go through their school.
 MM> I know NYC cops caught in crunch in 89 who are now homicide detectives
 MM> and Chicago cops that work here.
That's quite interesting to say the least. One of the things I was most 
curious about was the maximum age cut-off. I am strictly a civilian with an 
interest in the subject for self-educational (for lack of a better word) 
interests. Hopefully what I said makes some kind of sense.
 MM> Metro is truly cosmopolitan with a diverse ethnic and regional
 MM> population. No state income tax no lottery, high housing costs, high
 MM> sales tax at 8.5 or so.
The sales tax issue would scare me right out of my socks, I reside in NH 
where we have no sales or income tax. We do have a lottery and some rather 
high property taxes however. Yet with the higher property taxes, there is a 
LOT of LOCAL control over spending. However due to a decision by our State 
Supreme Court (Seven UNELECTED Bozos) regarding school funding that may 
change. We are now looking at a possible amendment to our state constitution 
to rectify that matter.
 MM> Music industry is being complmented by medical and ins corps. for a
 MM> broader tax base. Mayer is from Taxavhessetts and has increased taxes
 MM> already 2x and is hittinng on 3d now.
Good old Taxachusetts ehhh....... the Mayor's approval rating amongst the  
voters must be real interesting. I lived in Massachusetts for years until I 
finally got fed up with all of the insane taxes, insane laws which served to 
infringe upon the rights of honest law-abiding citizens etc and moved to NH 
where I do enjoy a better life.
 MM> Public schools are a mess due to a fedral mandated crosstown bussing
 MM> system. If you can choose where you live you can find nice areas. It's
 MM> worth paying the price for the neighborhood
I hear you on that note LOUD and CLEAR in regards to the public schools, the 
community where I live is truly IMHO an embarassment to the state, I live in 
Manchester, NH which is the largest city in the state and which sometimes I 
think it is state in itself. We were forced to move here 3 years ago out of 
economic necessity and I have regretted it ever since. Manchester is a lot 
like Boston, Ma or New York City on a smaller scale. The school system here 
is pathetic, administrators and educators who have a very poor attitude when 
it comes to educating our children. The only city agencies that I can truly 
give high marks to are the police and fire departments. For a city of this 
size (exact population figures I am unsure about, but it is somewhere in the 
6 figure range) these two agencies do take a "Small town approach" most  
notably the PD in dealing with the public, I can't bestow enough praise upon 
them. The rest of the city agencies/departments could take lessons from them  
in dealing with the public and in the delivery of services to the taxpayers.
My apologies to the moderator if I strayed from the topic of this echo. But 
hoopefully there are items within this message/thread that may be of benefit  
in future discussion related to the topic of this echo.
Take Care
Neal
... I'm part of the 57% that did not vote for Clinton!! ___ Blue Wave/386 
v2.30 
--- InterEcho 1.08
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