People trying to market Springfield as a place to live probably want to keep Ald. Roy Williams far away from anyone considering a move here.

A proposal for an annual $250,000 subsidy to Heartland Housed turned into a half-hour discussion, with Williams questioning whether the city and social service agencies are doing anything effective.

“When I start at my CVS on North Grand, and i go straight up to Pillsbury, all that’s homelessness now,” Williams said. “All across from the ballpark, it’s just a horrible area. I don’t know where there are coming from, but I gotta tell you, homelessness in Springfield is not improving; it’s getting worse, and it’s getting bold. It’s getting bold. I don’t know if the chief realizes it. I know he gets the calls, because I get the calls.”

As for police chief Ken Scarlette, he said people – including police – from other places are driving their homeless people *here* and just dropping them off. All this came from a seemingly benign proposal to make an annual $250,000 payment to Heartland Housed, the organization trying to coordinate homeless services in town. That proposal is on the agenda next week.