09-10-2007, 02:22 AM
Wilton Manors approves contract with police union
By Elizabeth Baier | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
September 9, 2007
After months of contract negotiations, commissioners recently approved an agreement between the city and the police union that includes four major changes in the Police Department's benefits plan.
They are:
Extending the DROP, or Deferred Retirement Option Plan, from five to six years for Police Department employees. That means the plan provides financial incentives for an additional six years after an employee's 20 years of service.
Providing a six-year, 3-percent annual cost-of-living adjustment for Police Benevolent Association members.
Providing early retirement without a penalty reduction if the pension member has a minimum of 15 years of service with the department.
Closing the current plan to new employees hired after Aug. 1 and offering new employees the Florida Retirement System.
General employees also moved to the Florida Retirement System on Aug. 1. Of the 90 eligible general employees, 40 opted to enter the state system, Human Resources Director Brenda Clanton said. This means the city will still be responsible for funding its own pension plan, for a maximum of 30 years, for those employees who chose to stay in its plan, she said.
The city anticipates saving millions of dollars in the long run by moving to the state's retirement system, officials said. The benefits, at their current value, may be worth as much as $31 million, according to a summary of impact results presented by Gabriel Roeder Smith, the actuary the city hired.
Commissioners voted 4 to 1 to move forward with the changes at their Aug. 28 meeting, with Commissioner Craig Sherritt dissenting. Sherritt said he supported the move to the state's retirement system but did not agree with giving police officers the cost-of-living increase. "There's a lot of good stuff in here, but I don't support the 3 percent COLA," he said.
City employees generally are enticed by the state's system because they don't have to contribute a portion of their salary to the pension, while the city's pension requires a 10 percent contribution, Clanton said. That's despite the fact that under the Florida retirement system, most employees only get 1.6 percent of their salary for each year they work, while the city offers 3 percent.
At the meeting, commissioners acknowledged the city would not see immediate savings, but they supported the change to the state system because of its long-term financial benefits.
"Ultimately this plan, pushing to FRS, is going to save the city money," Commissioner Gary Resnick said.
Mayor Scott Newton agreed. "The reason we're doing this is to save money in the long run," Newton said. "Sometimes we make decisions on things that are going to happen tomorrow, sometimes 10 years from now, sometimes 30 years from now."
Joining the state system also makes the city a more competitive employer, since several other municipalities already have made the transition, Commissioner Ted Galatis said.
"In order to recruit and maintain employees, you have to be competitive with other cities," Galatis said. "We provide pension benefits to be competitive
Bill
Fort Lauderdale, FL Reply »
|Flag |#1 13 hrs ago
And you wonder why th e paltry 2.2% reduction in 2007 Wilton Manor tax collections?
LEO
Miami, FL Reply »
|Flag |#2 13 hrs ago
You can cut salaries and benefits for your police, but then you only attract those less qualified because those more qualified end up with other jobs. Every police department in South Florida is competing for a small pool of qualified applicants. You have to be competitive with everyone else, or fold up your PD and contract with BSO or a neighboring PD
WTF
AOL Reply »
|Flag |#3 12 hrs ago
PLUS THIER PATCHES WILL BE RAINBOWS
Poor Taxpayer Reply »
|Flag |#4 12 hrs ago
END ALL PENSIONS NOW. SAVE FLORIDA FOR THE NEXT GENERATION.
NO ONE CAN AFFORD PENSIONS, THEY HAVE BANKRUPTED ALL MAJOR CORPORATIONS THAT TRIED TO KEEP THEM. THE ARE THE CAUSE OF HIGH TAXES.PENSIONS ARE LEGALIZED EXTORTION OF THE TAXPAYER.
WMPDER
Fort Lauderdale, FL Reply »
|Flag |#5 9 hrs ago
People reading this article have NO idea how BAD the working conditions in the police department are. It is hard just to walk into the buiding 5 days a week.Mayor Scott Newton, City Manager Joseph Gallegos,Commissioners Resnick, Galatis,Sherritt & Angelo have allowed Police Chief Rick Perez and his sidekicks have completly DESTROYED the Wilton Manors Police Department. The greater majority of the Police Officers & Aides could care less what happens in the community because of the reign of terror unleashed on them by Chief Rick Perez.The issue is more than the contract, it is about the WMPD being lead by an incompetent Chief and Asst Chief, Lt Seibert whose goals since they have been imported from the City Of Ft. Lauderdale P.D. is to destroy the once proactive and community friendly WMPD. Since May, 5 people have already left due to the opressive working enviroment with many more to come. If you want to know what is happening at the Wilton Manors Police Department, go to WWW.leoaffairs.com (http://WWW.leoaffairs.com) , click on message boards(upper right side top of the home page)and scroll down to Florida and click on Wilton Manors Police Department. You will then now the TRUTH.
WM Business Owner
Fort Lauderdale, FL Reply »
|Flag |#6 9 hrs ago
I bought a business on Wilton Drive a year ago. I was told that the Wilton Manors Police were very good at patrolling the Wilton Drive business area. Since the day we moved in, I have seen speeding cars and reckless drivers take control of Wilton Drive scaring clients away from my business. I was told by Chief Perez that they bought stealth squad cars that would do speeding enforcement. Have NOT seen one ticket being written while my business revenues are reduced each month.All I do is see un-manned police cars parked at different locations on the Drive. If I knew then,what I know now, I would have never relocated to Wilton Manors. The lack of police presence is bad for business.
WMPDER
Fort Lauderdale, FL Reply »
|Flag |#7 6 hrs ago
Click on this link. It will go directly to Wilton Manors foreum.
http://forums.leoaffairs.com/viewforum.php...
WMPDER
Fort Lauderdale, FL Reply »
|Flag |#8 5 hrs ago
WM Business Owner wrote:
I bought a business on Wilton Drive a year ago. I was told that the Wilton Manors Police were very good at patrolling the Wilton Drive business area. Since the day we moved in, I have seen speeding cars and reckless drivers take control of Wilton Drive scaring clients away from my business. I was told by Chief Perez that they bought stealth squad cars that would do speeding enforcement. Have NOT seen one ticket being written while my business revenues are reduced each month.All I do is see un-manned police cars parked at different locations on the Drive. If I knew then,what I know now, I would have never relocated to Wilton Manors. The lack of police presence is bad for business.
The reason you do not see the new stealth police cars on Wilton Drive is that their are no police officers left to drive them. We have so many vacancies due to officers quitting due to Chief Perez that the officers who did traffic enforcement are now required to do regular patrol duties as all shifts are on minimum staffing with some having just 2 patrol officers on duty. So the new stealth patrol vehicles really have become invisible. And since Chief Perez did away with the motorcycles we have no proactive traffic enforcement to protect the residents of the city
By Elizabeth Baier | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
September 9, 2007
After months of contract negotiations, commissioners recently approved an agreement between the city and the police union that includes four major changes in the Police Department's benefits plan.
They are:
Extending the DROP, or Deferred Retirement Option Plan, from five to six years for Police Department employees. That means the plan provides financial incentives for an additional six years after an employee's 20 years of service.
Providing a six-year, 3-percent annual cost-of-living adjustment for Police Benevolent Association members.
Providing early retirement without a penalty reduction if the pension member has a minimum of 15 years of service with the department.
Closing the current plan to new employees hired after Aug. 1 and offering new employees the Florida Retirement System.
General employees also moved to the Florida Retirement System on Aug. 1. Of the 90 eligible general employees, 40 opted to enter the state system, Human Resources Director Brenda Clanton said. This means the city will still be responsible for funding its own pension plan, for a maximum of 30 years, for those employees who chose to stay in its plan, she said.
The city anticipates saving millions of dollars in the long run by moving to the state's retirement system, officials said. The benefits, at their current value, may be worth as much as $31 million, according to a summary of impact results presented by Gabriel Roeder Smith, the actuary the city hired.
Commissioners voted 4 to 1 to move forward with the changes at their Aug. 28 meeting, with Commissioner Craig Sherritt dissenting. Sherritt said he supported the move to the state's retirement system but did not agree with giving police officers the cost-of-living increase. "There's a lot of good stuff in here, but I don't support the 3 percent COLA," he said.
City employees generally are enticed by the state's system because they don't have to contribute a portion of their salary to the pension, while the city's pension requires a 10 percent contribution, Clanton said. That's despite the fact that under the Florida retirement system, most employees only get 1.6 percent of their salary for each year they work, while the city offers 3 percent.
At the meeting, commissioners acknowledged the city would not see immediate savings, but they supported the change to the state system because of its long-term financial benefits.
"Ultimately this plan, pushing to FRS, is going to save the city money," Commissioner Gary Resnick said.
Mayor Scott Newton agreed. "The reason we're doing this is to save money in the long run," Newton said. "Sometimes we make decisions on things that are going to happen tomorrow, sometimes 10 years from now, sometimes 30 years from now."
Joining the state system also makes the city a more competitive employer, since several other municipalities already have made the transition, Commissioner Ted Galatis said.
"In order to recruit and maintain employees, you have to be competitive with other cities," Galatis said. "We provide pension benefits to be competitive
Bill
Fort Lauderdale, FL Reply »
|Flag |#1 13 hrs ago
And you wonder why th e paltry 2.2% reduction in 2007 Wilton Manor tax collections?
LEO
Miami, FL Reply »
|Flag |#2 13 hrs ago
You can cut salaries and benefits for your police, but then you only attract those less qualified because those more qualified end up with other jobs. Every police department in South Florida is competing for a small pool of qualified applicants. You have to be competitive with everyone else, or fold up your PD and contract with BSO or a neighboring PD
WTF
AOL Reply »
|Flag |#3 12 hrs ago
PLUS THIER PATCHES WILL BE RAINBOWS
Poor Taxpayer Reply »
|Flag |#4 12 hrs ago
END ALL PENSIONS NOW. SAVE FLORIDA FOR THE NEXT GENERATION.
NO ONE CAN AFFORD PENSIONS, THEY HAVE BANKRUPTED ALL MAJOR CORPORATIONS THAT TRIED TO KEEP THEM. THE ARE THE CAUSE OF HIGH TAXES.PENSIONS ARE LEGALIZED EXTORTION OF THE TAXPAYER.
WMPDER
Fort Lauderdale, FL Reply »
|Flag |#5 9 hrs ago
People reading this article have NO idea how BAD the working conditions in the police department are. It is hard just to walk into the buiding 5 days a week.Mayor Scott Newton, City Manager Joseph Gallegos,Commissioners Resnick, Galatis,Sherritt & Angelo have allowed Police Chief Rick Perez and his sidekicks have completly DESTROYED the Wilton Manors Police Department. The greater majority of the Police Officers & Aides could care less what happens in the community because of the reign of terror unleashed on them by Chief Rick Perez.The issue is more than the contract, it is about the WMPD being lead by an incompetent Chief and Asst Chief, Lt Seibert whose goals since they have been imported from the City Of Ft. Lauderdale P.D. is to destroy the once proactive and community friendly WMPD. Since May, 5 people have already left due to the opressive working enviroment with many more to come. If you want to know what is happening at the Wilton Manors Police Department, go to WWW.leoaffairs.com (http://WWW.leoaffairs.com) , click on message boards(upper right side top of the home page)and scroll down to Florida and click on Wilton Manors Police Department. You will then now the TRUTH.
WM Business Owner
Fort Lauderdale, FL Reply »
|Flag |#6 9 hrs ago
I bought a business on Wilton Drive a year ago. I was told that the Wilton Manors Police were very good at patrolling the Wilton Drive business area. Since the day we moved in, I have seen speeding cars and reckless drivers take control of Wilton Drive scaring clients away from my business. I was told by Chief Perez that they bought stealth squad cars that would do speeding enforcement. Have NOT seen one ticket being written while my business revenues are reduced each month.All I do is see un-manned police cars parked at different locations on the Drive. If I knew then,what I know now, I would have never relocated to Wilton Manors. The lack of police presence is bad for business.
WMPDER
Fort Lauderdale, FL Reply »
|Flag |#7 6 hrs ago
Click on this link. It will go directly to Wilton Manors foreum.
http://forums.leoaffairs.com/viewforum.php...
WMPDER
Fort Lauderdale, FL Reply »
|Flag |#8 5 hrs ago
WM Business Owner wrote:
I bought a business on Wilton Drive a year ago. I was told that the Wilton Manors Police were very good at patrolling the Wilton Drive business area. Since the day we moved in, I have seen speeding cars and reckless drivers take control of Wilton Drive scaring clients away from my business. I was told by Chief Perez that they bought stealth squad cars that would do speeding enforcement. Have NOT seen one ticket being written while my business revenues are reduced each month.All I do is see un-manned police cars parked at different locations on the Drive. If I knew then,what I know now, I would have never relocated to Wilton Manors. The lack of police presence is bad for business.
The reason you do not see the new stealth police cars on Wilton Drive is that their are no police officers left to drive them. We have so many vacancies due to officers quitting due to Chief Perez that the officers who did traffic enforcement are now required to do regular patrol duties as all shifts are on minimum staffing with some having just 2 patrol officers on duty. So the new stealth patrol vehicles really have become invisible. And since Chief Perez did away with the motorcycles we have no proactive traffic enforcement to protect the residents of the city