Happy New Year! I have spent the last two weeks with family celebrating the holidays and New Year. I have also been writing my annual address. At the time of this posting, I am about halfway done and am already at 3500 words. Needless to say, there will be significant editing.
Cary #6 Safest City in US
In a recent press release MoneyGeek ranked Cary as #6 on a list of cities with lower crime rates and crime-related costs.
“The direct economic costs of crime to individuals and society include victim medical and mental health care needs, damage to and loss of property and police and corrections costs,”
To create the list, MoneyGeek said it studied FBI data from 2023, the latest time-period available. It focused on nearly 300 cities across the country, each home to more than 100,000 residents.
With a population approaching 190,000, Cary stands as the only North Carolina destination to rank in the top 10 for safety. Cary boasts the state’s lowest crime cost per capita at $381, and it is recognized for having the lowest rates of both property crimes and violent crimes, such as murder and robbery. As a result, Cary is consistently ranked among the safest places to live in the nation.
Cary’s reputation for safety is well-earned. In 2022, it was named one of the safest cities in the U.S., thanks to its low crime rates and minimal risks related to driving, drug use, and alcohol consumption. In 2023, it was also recognized as the nation’s second-best place for drivers, based on lower crash-related dangers, as reported by McClatchy News. This year, MoneyGeek ranked Ramapo, New York, about 40 miles northwest of New York City, as the top city for safety.
Mayor’s Mailbox
- A complaint about litter on US1.
- A complaint about the proposed Ashworth’s Village. (My understanding is that this is an administrative decision not a council decision on rezoning)
- Thank you to our police department from someone who lost a loved one and how kind, caring, and gentle the officers were. (We do have the best police department in the state by far)
- A complaint about recycling not picked up (when contacted it was found that they were not putting recycling out in the correct week)
- A request to have weekly recycling with 460 signers to a petition. (Creating weekly recycling would require more workers, more equipment, and more taxpayer dollars via a tax increase. I don’t believe most citizens would be in favor of a tax increase when additional recycling bins are provided for free (65 gallon cart). There shouldn’t be anything that spoils in a recycling bin so two-week pickup should be fine. And the extra bin should solve any capacity issues. I will not support this.)
Next Week
Next week’s activities include staff meetings, a Cary Chamber Leadership Cary event, a HRID advisory board meeting, and Dr. Walden’s Economic Forecast.
Well, that is all for this week. My next post will be on Sunday, January 12th, 2025. Although I have Facebook and Twitter accounts, those are not the best means of communication with me. Please send all Town of Cary questions or comments to Harold.Weinbrecht@carync.gov and email personal comments to augustanat@mindspring.com.
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