Seattle officials explain ‘bottom line’ of cleaning up city

As the City of Seattle copes with a growing homeless population, and officials try to determine best practices to deal with illegal encampments, one has to wonder when government will say enough is enough.

During a town hall on KIRO Radio’s Jason Rantz show, Dave Ross asked Seattle Police Department’s Assistant Chief Steve Wilske and special assistant to the mayor Scott Lindsay a number of questions about the city’s future. Among them: At what point do you simply say, ‘To maintain a civilized society you have to set some rules and whatever your problem, whatever the reason, you just can’t camp on residential streets and can’t camp in neighborhoods?’

Lindsay explained that it comes down to outreach teams and city services, helping people in need make their way out of homelessness. They need to be create a safe place to stay. That effort, combined with increased cleanup and enforcement is the “bottom line,” Lindsay said.

Related: With an overwhelmed government, residents learn how to clean up needles

Rantz pointed out that homeless people don’t always accept the services offered by the city.

“That’s right. And there are many who say we should leave them alone,” Lindsay said. However, that is not his perspective, or Mayor Ed Murray’s, he added.

If that is the case, why is “The Jungle” still open? The Jungle is the site of a recent deadly shooting, and has been a thorn in the city’s side for years.

The city is determining the best steps to handle the illegal encampment, Wilske explained, and an assessment is underway.

“The goal is to come up with a final solution,” Wilske said. “We’ve gone through there in years past. The goal is to come up with something, resolve it, and keep it resolved.”

So why not just put up a fence?

According to Lindsay, a fence is being discussed, along with additional enforcement.

But if some assessments of the Seattle Police Department are true, are there enough officers to do that?

Seattle Police Officer’s Guild President Ron Smith has said several times that the department is understaffed. So much so that some neighborhoods have hired additional security.

Wilske said officers are enforcing when needed. However, Lindsay said “we do need more officers, and that is why the mayor is rapidly hiring them.”

Wilske added that there are 490-500 actual 911 responders; there are additional teams, such as anti-crime teams.

The entire town hall discussion can be heard below:

Follow @https://twitter.com/mynorthwest