No Confidence

WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA POLICE BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION

412 W. Madison Street Suite #1102, Tampa, Florida
Phone: (813) 225-1300 Fax: (813)225-1344
http://www.wcfpba.org


Do you have Confidence, Faith and Trust in the Leadership of the Lakeland Police Department?

A Simple question that has to be answered each day you pin on the Badge and put on the gun belt. A question that is always in the back of the mind of every Officer and one that dictates the manner in which you do the job on a daily basis.

Today we practice law enforcement in an atmosphere of litigation first and knee jerk reactions to video tape and headlines by Management who consider the court of public opinion Due Process.

Collective Bargaining in the State of Florida, under Chapter 447, and the negotiated contracts agreed to and voted on by all requires that both Management and Labor abide by the Rules and act professionally and in good faith.

The current contract between the City of Lakeland and the West Central Florida PBA took over a year and a half to workout and ratify. Each of you relied upon your representatives to obtain the best terms possible. This was accomplished through hard work, research and trust in the system.

Recent events; however, have revealed that both sides are not willing to live up to the terms of the contract. The proposal to cut your money and the threat to lay off of Police Officers by the City Manager was inappropriate and not in good faith. The terms of the pay plan were the City’s language and to change at the eleventh hour indicates incompetence on behalf of the financial advisors for the City or deliberate misrepresentation of their proposal that you ratified.

At the time your Representatives were given the ultimatum to reopen the contract your Chief of Police was present and said nothing on your behalf.

At the Budget meeting on Monday, Chief Boatner was present to hear the “Alternative Rate Plan” presentation and said nothing to defend your Honor, your rights or your contract.

The failure of your Chief to speak on your behalf or support you at every opportunity has resulted in Lakeland Police Officers being called greedy, spoiled and having no regard for other City Employees or the Community that they serve. Nothing could be farther from the truth and all of you as Professional Police Officers deserve more from your leadership.

The time is right now and the final question I must ask each of you is:

Do you have Confidence, Faith and Trust in Chief Roger Boatner?

At the next General Membership Meeting I will ask each of you to complete a simple ballot on this question, the choice is YES or No!

With the utmost respect and admiration for what each of you do, I remain.

Sincerely,


Jim Diamond III
Director of Operations

[Lonewolf1]

Jim,

As an LPD retiree who still has a lot of pride in the agency and many of the officers who bust their humps everyday for the citizens of Lakeland with little appreciation and absolutely no support from the Chief of Police or senior staff, I want to say thank you for putting this issue forward and stating the problems so well.

I have absolutely no confidence is Roger Boatner.

And I shall vote that way. This agency can be better, and it's time to get headed in that direction.

Correction:

I have no confidence in Roger Boatner.

Police Union to Ask Members If They Have Faith in Chief

By Rick Rousos
THE LEDGER


Published: Friday, September 26, 2008 at 9:20 p.m.
Last Modified: Friday, September 26, 2008 at 9:20 p.m.
LAKELAND | The union representing Lakeland police plans to ask its members, "Do you have confidence, faith and trust in Chief Roger Boatner?"

Rank-and-file officers are concerned, saying the city reneged on their raise percentage and recent discipline for two supervisors was too lenient.

On leoaffairs.com, Jim Diamond, the executive director of the Tampa-based West Central Florida Police Benevolent Association, wrote that the simple up-or-down ballot question will be asked at the union's upcoming general meetings in Lakeland. They will be Tuesday and Wednesday evening at the Holiday Inn on U.S. 98 North.

LPD detective Nick Marolda, the department's union representative and a senior PBA vice president, said Friday if the membership at the meetings would prefer not to take a vote, it won't happen. But with "all that is going on with the department," the vote will probably be taken, he said.

Boatner said he was disappointed that nobody from the PBA told him about the pending vote.

While the vote concerns him, Boatner said, "The most important thing to me is that the residents of Lakeland never have cause to have no confidence in the service of the Lakeland Police Department."

Police officers are upset because an expected pay increase has been eliminated.

In addition to up to a 5 percent merit raise, they had a deal with the city to additionally get a "me-too" raise of whatever annual adjustment non-emergency workers got. That would have been an extra 1.5 percent.

But City Manager Doug Thomas eliminated the 1.5 percent adjustment for all city workers. Instead, the city will give merit raises to other workers of up to 4 percent, rather than 2.5 percent, eliminating the extra 1.5 percent adjustment for the LPD.

In his Internet posting, Diamond blames Boatner for not speaking up to defend the officers. It's Diamond who is calling for the vote of confidence or no confidence.

Police officers are also annoyed that a police lieutenant and his sergeant wife, Al and Felicia Wilson, were suspended rather than fired for a series of transgressions.

Marolda said he did not want to comment extensively, but did say officers are upset about it and that everyone in the chain of command opted for firing except Boatner.

Boatner said he could not comment because the grievance process involving the Wilsons is ongoing, but said he'd be happy to do so at the appropriate time.

Boatner does have the confidence of his boss, Thomas, and Thomas' bosses, the city commissioners.

[ Rick Rousos can be reached at rick.rousos@theledger.com or 863-802-7514]

We aren't just upset about the money, we are upset about the complete lack of support, direction, or even simple contact with the person that is supposed to be our leader. And when he does decide to show his face, he blows smoke up our a** and makes bad excuses for why he can't help us. Boatner has done nothing for the Lakeland Police Department except let the City Mis-Manager have his way with us. And why? Because he has just a couple years left in the DROP, when he can take off with his money and forget us. He doesn't want to, and won't, "rock the boat." However, in taking that stance, he leaves us in the lurch and ceases to be our chief. Instead, he is Doug Thomas' patsie. And, no, Boatner does NOT have the confidence of the entire city commission, if the Rag, er, pardon me, the Bird Cage Liner, er, wait, Ledger, would bother to ask. My vote will be NO CONFIDENCE. The only people I see not voting that way will be the suck- uppy brown-nosers, like a certain female lieutenant who has supposedly quit the union when she found out about the vote. Seems she had the foresight to know that the vast majority of the voters will also express NO CONFIDENCE in the "chief", and didn't have the personal conviction to stay with the union and vote that, yes, she did have confidence. Very consistant for her. VOTE, and VOTE NO CONFIDENCE. If you can't make a meeting, get an absentee ballot. Take part in this, it is for the betterment of all of us. The quote is particulary poingnant here, that "if you don't vote, don't bi#ch!"

The ledger is not on our side, and they never will be. They paint us as money hungry, spoiled cops. We just want the best department possible. We want to be able to serve the citizens they way they deserve. If the ledger cared about its readers they would help us improve the agency. I have as much confidence in them as I do Boatner.

''Boatner was disappointed,'' You want to see disappointment come to a briefing. If anyone with stars on their shoulders ever walked or limped into a briefing you would REALLY SEE DISAPPOINTMENT! Officers who negociated in good faith and tried once again to have some sort of trust in our Leadership. But that does not happen here. You come downstairs to notify an officer he got a complaint, for doing his job. You come down for the ''RED ALERT!'' when City Hall calls about the barking dog an ''important'' persons street. Come to briefing and look at the empty seats where good cops and friends sat but are gone. They limped too but could not get their job descriptions changed unlike #3. They could have a future also. Call them and see if they are disappointed, they are i do still call them. Why are criminals still working here? Maybe our taxpayers are disappointed also, but their not privy to the ivory tower and good old boy levels of punishment. But dont worry we will still do our jobs, we will be there when you need us, unlike our Leadership. Times are hard for us all we just want what we worked on for almost two years in good faith. But as usual there are two sets of standards here. One set for the third floor and one set for there's the door.

Poor Rog', is he being picked on? Don't be fooled, Boatner is/was fully aware of the upcoming meetings and that the vote is going to occur. Wahhhh! None of this would be necessary (and it is necessary) if Boatner had been half a leader, half a Chief, and represented the Lakeland Police Officers and the Department. But he chose not to do that. "If that's the way he wants it, well, he gets it." I'm voting NO CONFIDENCE!!!!!!!!

If you were any kind of leader, and heard that your people had no confidence in you, wouldn't you address that? Wouldn't you want to find out what could be done to improve relations? If you were any kind of leader you would, but Roger Boatner is not a leader of any kind.

And if you are a cop of any kind, and care about your agency, you will be at one of the two meetings. We can make this a better place, and serve the citizens without fear of the third floor politics.

[Lonewolf1]

It doesn't matter whether you show up and vote Yes or No. What does matter is that you show up. Solidarity is the key to this and any other issue where working conditions and leadership come into question.

Those who know the COP and his 3rd floor minions are not the least surprised at the lack of leadership or decision making ability of any of them. They have been manipulating their careers upward at the cost of reliable management, dedicated leadership, and any level of personal integrity, With the exception of Asst Chief Charts and Graphs who I believe has always had a high level of personal integrity but lacked the common street smarts to be a good cop and good administrator. He has never been a street cop and can't relate to those who are. On the other hand the others have been street cops and their actions show how much they have betrayed the faith and worked only for their own agendas and woe to anyone who got or gets in their way.

Just think about what is happening and what has happened to a once great agency and go to one of the meeting and vote. It will make a difference.

Assistant Chief charts has a knife that cuts just as deep as the other two. The only thing is that it works from behind just like the owner of it.