Contract Update

Your getting a new parking lot for your Pinellas Park Performing Arts Center. Enjoy!

A Performing Arts Center in Pinellas Park with a paved parking lot! Wow! Now we won't have to worry about rocks chipping the paint on our vehicles when we attend some of the biggest acts on the planet. Acts like armpit farting to the classics, yodeling, burping the ABCs, and how to change a flat (I'm not talking about changing a flat to a sharp either). I can't wait for the next arts and crafts show where I can learn some new tips on how to take an old tractor tire and transform it into an eye-candy flower planter.

Let's talk about wasting money for a moment. City Hall, you need not look any further than the end of your noses. You hypocrites are the biggest wasters of taxpayers' dollars. All department budgets are approved through you. A train station with a caboose (a cardboard cutout would've had the same effect) and a paved parking lot for the performing arts center? Italian marble tile on the floors of City Hall? You could have saved a ton of money by laying vinyl tile (self-adhesive) with a fancy Italian-like pattern. What about your hefty pay raises that you so unselfishly give yourselves every year?

The bottom line is you failed to see this recession coming. If you did see it coming you would not have made those crazy-ass purchases mentioned above. In hindsight you see the errors of your ways. Your solution is to cut money from every city department's budget to correct your oversight. The citizens should be outraged at the way this city has been managed. Now you want to make huge cuts in emergency services to help save money for your future raises. Wake up....tough economic times translates into higher crimes rates.

Go ahead cut from the PD's budget. You already get all flustered when a citizen walks into City Hall to make a complaint. What do you do..you call the PD to handle it. Budget cuts means less officers out there to be proactive in their daily duties. We'll have to become more reactive because we'll be running from call to call. We won't have enough manpower to handle the call load. This will translate into more citizen complaints for you. But you'll do what you always do. You will give yourselves another pay raise and deflect the complaint to the PD. Crap flows downhill. City Hall, you are at the top of the hill. Phew! It stinks down here.

Government should not be getting any of that money, nor should corporations. The people should be keeping their money. Education is the biggest waste, followed by housing.

The state should not have kept or spent any of the money. It is wrong to take money from people by force and give it to those who have earned it. Taxes should be used for things that benefit the majority and public as a whole and for defense and security. I should not have to pay for another's kids, health, hobbies, mistakes or problems. That is what charity and religion is for. Live responsibly or die in the gutter, but don't steal what I toiled for.

I look forward to the coming collapse and possible civil war. Although it will be chaotic and turbulent, I look forward to the country getting back on the right track as our founders intended.

Praise the lord and pass the ammunition.

It will be very interesting come election time. It just amazes me how a city who can say it prides it's self on services, cut the throats of those who protect our city. We work out of a ramshackle building and drive cars that are an embarrassment. Yet our pay and benefits are even more of a joke come contract time. Put money into the services that protect the city and not in your pockets and the white house of city hall you have.

Government should not be getting any of that money, nor should corporations. The people should be keeping their money. Education is the biggest waste, followed by housing.

The state should not have kept or spent any of the money. It is wrong to take money from people by force and give it to those who have earned it. Taxes should be used for things that benefit the majority and public as a whole and for defense and security. I should not have to pay for another's kids, health, hobbies, mistakes or problems. That is what charity and religion is for. Live responsibly or die in the gutter, but don't steal what I toiled for.

I look forward to the coming collapse and possible civil war. Although it will be chaotic and turbulent, I look forward to the country getting back on the right track as our founders intended.


Praise the lord and pass the ammunition.

Whats the old saying,,,,shi errrr revolutions happen :wink:

ROD,
you speak the truth, this entire city is full of wasted administration positions. Adam, can you bring this up and maybe do a comparison city wide to find out where all of the money is going? See how many useless depts we have and how many wasteful positions are filled. Find out how much money this city has spent or plans to spend on things no one needs. I see we are building a new hobo shack right between the Drain Station and the PD, the Under Performing Center wants a half a mil for another parking lot ( for the 3 cars that show up for the nobodys who play there), Horse facilities popping up everywhere...when is the ridiculous spending going to end? how much money did we dump into neighborhood services building and scuzzy hall? this city has been mismanaged for years and someone ought to call the Times to do a nice article, so the good people of PP can really see where their tax dollars are being spent

That's a good idea.

Why don't you call Anne Linberg and blow your whistle. Because I am sure she doesn't know anything about this. I mean, it's not like she sits at the meetings when these things are discussed an approved.

But...do you know what the last article she wrote was.....The 3% raises the FD got while everyone else is taking pay cuts and losing jobs...

Sure, we are going to get a ton of sympathy....

Bottom line, you want to start throwing stones....You better be ready when they start getting chucked back... Because they will...

The reality of the pay situation in the city is faitly simple..1st John Moore, can you tell me why code enforcement has 6 supervisors for 5 people or vice versa. 2nd, can you tell me why the director of the rec center needs an assistant director..How f'ing hard can it be to organize a basketball game between some 10 year olds....As usual the FD got theirs and this is not a shot at them. The PD wont get ours. I appreciate the work the negotiators are doing but save your time. The city, i.e. John Moore and Big Bird, errrr, the city manager will do all they can to see that the PD stays right where its at or will take more away from us. Yet, the group as a Whole will still do the "Customer Service" job they were hired to do. The truth is the city will continue to Piss on us because we allow it. John Moore will say "your officers dont even come to the meetings" news flash John Moore, we are either working or doing something in our off time that is work related. I'm sure you may want us to do that for free as well.

The time is now to stick to our guns and not allow City Hall to take advantage of us. We as Officers have to stick together. The negotiators need our support and they have it. City Hall, maybe you top heavy Fat Cats who have a history of Bankrupting businesses and now a city should look at yourselves before you look at us....

Although I understand the frustration, place blame for the comments made by John Moore on John Moore for now. It doesn't help to bash the manager or council at this point. In due time perhaps but not yet. We need them on our side not against us. Let their actions dictate our response not the words and motions of John Moore. This is a negotiation and it is a process. Let's give the manager and council an opportunity to reign Moore in.

We all need to be at the contract meetings to show Moore and the city that we are unified.

Hang in there all, its called negotiations, not tell us what we are gonna get or here is what we demand. Although certainly it can feel like it at times.

Why not poll the officers to find out what meeting time is more convenient for a larger turn out. Perhaps there is a better time of day that would get more people to the talks. I know we can't please everyone, but whatever time attracts the most officers, use it!

Secondly, the tone of the online updates is completely negative. I understand Moore is a major contributor to the negativity, but gloom and doom is no doubt keeping a lot of officers away. Take a responsible and positive approach. I wan't to read and hear about things that encourage officers to stay here at PPPD. I haven't heard or read anything that promotes a positive future here at PPPD. What says you negotiators? You plan on staying here if all is gloom and doom?

I know it's tough everywhere, but take from the Lts' scenario. They know their positions are on the chopping block, but the City Redevelopment Area (CRA) funds has given them some hope. The CRA funds ($3.5 million) could be used to supplement or support certain specialized positions, supervisory positions, etc. This is the kind of information that is positive. Why hasn't it been reported to everyone?