Policy analysis and applications

¶ … policy analysis development is to state what the problem or, in the Waterville case, problems are. In this case, the overlying problem is, as the citizens see it, a deteriation of the social structure of the city where the once historic traditions are being replaced by a new tradition of crime. At the heart of this problem is the increase in teenage drug use and meth houses. This is the most public issue and that in which the public is focusing on as what needs to be solved. Their reasoning is that if the drug problem is solved, then there will no longer be any problems.

However, there are also other trends occurring in Waterville, either complimentary to or subsequent to the drug problem. First, one has to look at the per capital personal income of the city, which is significantly lower than the state average. This economic downturn has also led to a decrease in jobs and businesses. Over recent years, numerous local businesses have closed, including a major industry that relocated to Mexico. This transfer left over four hundred Waterville residents, who had earned above-average wages, unemployed. This clearly effects the overall per capita personal income level. Another effect of this move was a decrease in the city and school tax base, meaning that these areas faced budget and programming cuts.

Another underlying problem is the diversification of the Waterville population, which is not twenty-five percent Hispanic. However, city and business leadership does not reflect this large population and there has been significant conflicts between the city leadership and the Hispanic community. Most of these conflicts are centered on the use of city parks, zoning, dances, hiring policies and police practices.

Now that we have looked at the entire problem, the next step is to analyze their causes. Although Mayor Joyce Allen has stated that the decrease in local businesses can be attributed to the increase in drug use, there seems to be an underlying problem beyond the youth drug use.

Socioeconomic status can be related to drug use and levels of crime. In recent years, prior to the drug problem, the city of Waterville has experienced a significant loss of jobs and thus, a resulting decrease in per capita average income. This is the source of the problem. Without jobs, many of these individuals moved out of town. When a large percentage of the population base moves in, many smaller, support businesses will go out of business as their customer base has shrunk. This further decreases the per capita income of the community. Further, as the per capita income decreases, so does the Waterville tax base. Without the tax base to fund the city and school's programs, many things had to be cut. These cuts not only effect the overall quality of the programs, they also effect opportunity. This results in several other problems. First, without quality city and school services, there is nothing to attract new businesses and individuals to the town. Further, without quality and opportunities, there is nothing to retain the current population. As opportunities, especially social and recreational opportunities, decrease, drug use and crime will often increase. Again, this will prevent the city from attracting new citizens and businesses.

Clearly, the loss of the initial businesses has caused a downward spiral for the community of Waterville, creating a Catch-22 for policy officials. With the loss of business there is a loss of income which leads to a loss of quality and opportunities which prevents the recruitment of new businesses, which only furthers the cycle, leading to such problems as increased drug use and criminal activity.

What is the solution to this cycle? Without a budget, the city cannot improve quality or opportunities. This being the case, city officials have to use the resources they currently have. Surprisingly, what many see as another problem, may in fact be the solution for the continuation of the small town of Waterville.

Despite the overall trend of loss of business and population, Waterville has experienced an increase in its Hispanic population. Unfortunately, many city citizens and leaders have seen this as an inherent problem and cause for some of the above mentioned problems. This has led to a segregation of the city and racial conflicts.