Contract Update

We all get the shaft, I just want better pay. Working conditions are the same no matter who runs the shift :cop: :cop:

"Wow....so let me get this straight...3 Lt's and 3 Sgt's may get demoted due to the budget and the only sympathy goes to the officers who may not have a shot a promotion as fast as they thought. Now that's class."

I see you thought this one out well pal. It has to do with damage control and doing what has the least negative effect on the masses. The Lts took their promotions kNOWING they would not be protected if their positions were eliminated. Ask them. They will tell you they knew the risks. So now the reality may hit home for them. I know at least one of the Lts spoke at length (at great length) after the 402 incident about how we must be careful in the decisions we make both at work and in our personal lives. That is outstanding advice. They chose to take the Lt positions. They are supposed to be good leaders thinking outside of the box. Well, they made a decision to become Lts for whatever reasons and motivation. It may not work out for them in the end, but it was THEIR decision. They have to live with it.

Why should the Sgts allow the Lts to return to their ranks by throwing them a life line and displacing 3 of their own? Would the Lts take a paycut to save 3 Sgts or 3 Officers' jobs. That question was already answered when the Lt spots were made. Lts instead of additional patrol officers. If the Lt demotions are allowed, 3 Sgts come back to patrol and 3 patrol officers will be forced out. The displaced Sgts will get their positions back when the City approves (if ever) future promotions. The displaced patrol officers will be looking for work.

Lets see....3 Lts will be demoted, 3 Sgts will be demoted, and 3 patrol officers will be unemployed. Do the math...9 people affected by allowing the Lts to become Sgts. But, if you get rid of the 3 Lts, only 3 people are affected by the change. Sgts stay intact and patrol still has hope that a future promotion is a possibility. Morale will be a lot higher for the Sgts and Patrol.

You hate to see it happen, but you want to limit the damage.

I agree with that...what just made me shake my head was the comment about the effect it would have on the officers who may be on the top of the promotional list. We don't even know who they are and we are worried about it..

I do however agree with damage control..

This all goes back for many months of postings about getting rid of the Lt and Cpl positions. We need officers taking calls and keeping this place running. The last thing we need is too many supervisors making this place top heavy with admin. We should have nipped this in the bud months ago because anyone who has been around awhile knows this always happens at contract time. I don't want anyone to lose their jobs, but how can we justify 5 supervisors watching 5 ofcs shagging calls? This has come back to bite us all. Lastly, I don't feel sorry for this mystery "top 5" ofcs who want their chance to advance. I feel bad for the rookies, who might be looking for a job because this PD has been run like AIG for yrs.

In a perfect world we wouldn't be having this online discussion, but the world is far from perfect. To the Lts. I would say "You took your chances by accepting your positions and now the economy says you may have to go. Thanks for your service, but the PD has an additional $600,000 to cut from its proposed budget. Eliminating your positions will get us closer to the requested budget cuts.

The Lt salary cuts should trim $210-$240 thousand dollars from the PD's current budget (conservative estimate). While we're at it we can eliminate or restructure the Corporal positions. The Directives say they are not supervisor positions even though they are allowed to perform supervisory functions. You can still call them Corporals, but take away the 7% pay differential . Quit whining Corporals! You are still employed and keeping your precious Corporal title will look good on your resume. It shows potential employers you have law enforcement supervisory experience.

Now, take the 7% corporal pay differential and trim it from the budget too. A rough estimate (conservatively averaging Corporal base salaries in the $50,000 range) would be a savings of roughly $31,500-$35,000 a year. Now deduct this savings and the savings from the Lts' salaries from the City's requested $600,000 in additional cuts from the PD budget. Guess what? We have trimmed close to $300,000 from the budget! The PD still has roughly $300,000 in additional budget cuts to make, but it certainly helps take the sting out of the remaining cuts for the rest of the agency.

There are some very bright people here at PPPD. I'm sure you have your own ideas on how the PD can make additional budget cuts without laying off additional people. How about buying out those that are in the drop?Two PPPD Captains are in the drop along with a couple of senior patrol officers. Should the City buy them out? The SO has already bought out several people in their drop program.

The Captains...you are correct...they could just be told to go. Now, to be legal, it can't be based on their age. So you would be on some thing ice if you terminated them and brought in younger Captains. My guess is they will run with at least two Captains, so really that only will get rid of one.

Also, where exactly in the contract does it say that the city can just terminate the employment of a member of the bargaining unit member who is in the drop?

They are not being terminated, they have already retired. In regards to the captains, what part of "top heavy" do you not get? This needs to be done to clear out our lopsided over-paid chain of command, so there will not be anyone (younger or older) taking their place. It only makes sense. If a department has "x" amount of dollars to operate you need to be smart about where that money is used. Someone said it best earlier comparing us to AIG. We are worse than AIG. An agency this small with three capts, three LT's and a chief? This is not limited to the PD, the city is disgustingly overloaded with "brass" that are not needed and do nothing but "steal" money. Cadell is a prime example. What are we paying him to supervise two people?

Hey Rod....

I got news for you....you can't just TERMINATE the employment of R.W. He is a bargaining unit employee in the drop plan. There is no provision in hte contract that I am aware of for the city to TERMINATE his employment simply because he has entered the drop. Yes, they can force the Captains out... However, If they did away with the Captains, LT's and Corporals and made them all patrol officers....You would still not be happy.... You would still have to take a call every now and then, and then you would complain that their were not enough promotional oppportunities and you would begin complaining about that.

You'd be surprised at what I could do Alice!

Local lawmakers awaiting federal stimulus funds
Monday, March 16, 2009
Post a comment | E-mail this story | Print

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The largest part of the Bay area's stimulus fund likely will go towards education. BAY AREA (Bay News 9) -- Bay area officials are watching and waiting for billions of dollars in federal stimulus money.

In fact, they're already lining up projects.

About $12.2 billion - 1.5 percent of the entire federal package - is headed to Florida, which has about 6 percent of the country's population.

And according to Bay News 9's partner newspaper the St. Petersburg Times, more than $200 million is on its way directly from the federal government to local agencies in Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties.

The question now is when exactly will the money arrive?

More Information

Stimulus cash
Will the stimulus package bring jobs to the Bay area?(Feb. 16, 2009)
What the stimulus bill means for education in Florida
Stimulus watch
Previous stimulus stories
Likely within the next couple of months.

Meanwhile, local lawmakers are meeting in the coming days and weeks to determine how to spend the money.

The funds will be spent among law enforcement, transit, housing and education.

The stimulus cash could be spent like this:

Law enforcement - $7.8 million (Includes $1.7 million for the Tampa Police Department, $595,000 for the Pasco County Sheriff's Office and $3.1 million for Pinellas County.)

Transit - $33 million (Includes $15 million for Hillsborough County, $15 million for Pinellas County and $3 million for Pasco County.)

Housing - $40.1 million (Includes $10.5 million for the Tampa Housing Authority, $1.3 million for the Pinellas County Housing Authority, and $1.3 million for the Clearwater Housing Authority.)

Education - $145 million (Includes $35.4 million in Hillsborough and $21 million in Pinellas for low-income schools, and $44 million in Hillsborough and $13.8 million in Pasco for special education programs.)


oH BOY!!! I WONDER WHAT WERE GETTING????