As population shrinks, calls for assistance by residents grows
The health of a city may be assessed by how often residents have calls for service to first responders and the condition of the neighborhoods in which people live. In Decatur’s case, while our population declines, calls for help increase.
Alarm calls to the fire department are equivalent to last year’s record pace. YTD through June 2024, the Decatur Fire Department has responded to 6,888 alarms compared to 6,886 alarms YTD through June 2023. As per the December 2023 fire department report, “In the future, the City and the fire department will need to decide what alarms the department will continue to respond.” To date, the city council has declined to discuss this public safety issue despite the fact that high numbers of calls for service strain both firefighters and the apparatuses they use.
The Decatur Police Department has seen an increase in the number of calls for service with 26,007 YTD through June 2024 compared to 25,117 YTD through June 2023 (4% increase). On a positive note, traffic accidents are down 7% YTD through June 2024 compared to June 2023 (n = 1,096 and 1,181, respectively) and shootings are down 15% YTD through June 2024 compared to June 2023 (n=44 and 52, respectively).
Neighborhood metrics continue to show a city whose housing stock is in significant distress with nuisance violations, properties declared unfit for human habitation, and properties that have been boarded up at similar, high levels between 2023 and 2024. Nuisance violations total 946 YTD through June 2023 compared to 935 violations YTD through June 2024, the number of properties declared unfit for human habitation increased from 317 to 355 (15% increase), while the number of properties that were boarded up went from 202 to 196. The number of demolitions through June 2024 was 67 compared to 50 through June 2023 (34% increase) but remains below the number necessary to keep pace with the rate of blight.
Increased calls for service are coming at the same time that Decatur families are under significant economic stress. In Macon County, approximately 14% of families are experiencing food insecurity and approximately 44% of families either live in poverty or do not make enough money to make ends meet. Simultaneously, long-standing city policies may exacerbate the circumstances of distressed individuals. As one example, city policy is to shut off water of occupied residences due to lack of payment even during heat warnings. Thus, while almost universally, individuals are recommended to stay hydrated during heat warnings, the city will shut off water at the time people may need it the most. It goes without saying that people need to pay their bills, but it is difficult to see how individuals that suffer heat-related illnesses and death due to dehydration will be in a position to reimburse the city for their unpaid water bills.
Fixes to these problems will take financial resources and it is unclear what new revenue sources the city will utilize. The majority of council members are opposed to a cannabis dispensary and other cannabis-related businesses even though it will bring hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue annually. The city manager negotiated a contract with ADM that gives the company the exclusive right to sequester carbon under Lake Decatur at a cost well below market rates. Usually, entities pay a premium for exclusivity in resource use, but in Decatur, our city manager took the opposite negotiating tactic likely costing the city millions. Thus, it is unclear what financial resources can be utilized to reduce calls for service, improve the neighborhoods where people live, and increase the city’s population.