Alderman Melissa Greene said at the Augsut 27 council meeting that constituents had been telling her panhandlers downtown were becoming a problem. Police Chief Thomas Achord agreed there was a problem, but there were different elements officers must deal with. Some folks are just passing through town, others are vagrants doing the best they can. Some folks are brought to town in vans to panhandle or try to sell something during a day or two and then are gone.
Achord said some panhandlers use dogs as a lure to get spare change. He also mentioned there are websites that post which cities are friendliest to panhandlers and which corners in those towns are most lucrative.
Mayor Butch Berry pointed out there are ongoing lawsuits against cities for how they dealt with the First Amendment rights of panhandlers, but city council took no action.