One of the things that I enjoy most about my job is the opportunities I have to connect with our employees that are actually out there serving the public on the front lines. I spend so much of my time in City Hall, or in meetings somewhere else, that it’s easy to forget that city government is not about meetings, it’s about providing services to the taxpaying public. Whether it’s the guys that mow the parks or fix the water line or put out the fire, it’s always (and I do mean always) a great experience for me to get with these folks and get a feel for what their jobs are like.
This is Officer Steve Velner. I snapped this photo of him last night at about 9:00 p.m. in front of the Eden Prairie Community Center. I did a “ride along” with Officer Velner last night. Among other duties, Officer Velner and I stopped at the Community Center so that he could pick up and deliver their daily cash deposit.
Officer Velner and I cruised the town. We did speed patrol along Highway 212 with the newest laser speed gun. It was very easy to use. I took some speed readings on cars myself! We could not use my readings to pull anyone over because I am not certified or trained in the use of the equipment. But I now see how easy it is to use, and how easy it is to catch a speeding vehicle. We actually pulled over a speeder that Officer Velner clocked and gave him a warning ticket. Officer Velner noted that the guy was apologetic and contrite. I think that’s probably the right way to act if you’re ever pulled over for speeding by a police officer.
Officer Velner and I started working for the City of Eden Prairie on the same day: April 29, 2002. We both talked about how fortunate we feel to have ended up here. It really is a great place to work.
Officer Velner is a good representative of our police officers. He is a very good officer. We pay our police officers well. I think they’d say that, too. But we also get the cream of the crop, too. That’s our strategy. This strategy allows us to hire “off the top” everytime we hire new officers. When we hire new officers, we typically get over a hundred applicants and we typically get to hire the best candidate (or two) out of that bunch. It’s like having a pro football team composed of all #1 draft picks year after year. After awhile, you get a pretty good team. That’s what we’ve got in our Police Department. Top to bottom.
Our police are high visibility employees. We want our high visibility employees to be very good employees and to represent our organization well with the public. Our police do that very well.
Thanks for the ride, Steve.
Until next time, this is your crime-fighting City Manager signing off……..
