Ask the PBA

Thanks again Matt. I keep telling all of these young fellas they need to join PBA.

[Matt Puckett]

I was just wondering if they alloted any money for 208 SOAR

Yes. From the funds in Specific Appropriation 2592, $5,125,000 is provided
for the State Overtime Action Response (SOAR) Program

[Matt Puckett]

God bless you and your family Matt for your hard work and diligence.

Thank you for the kind words. May God bless you and yours, too.

[Matt Puckett]

Thanks again Matt. I keep telling all of these young fellas they need to join PBA.

Thanks.

Matt,
What is the PBA's position on Captains going to SES status with the possibility of Lieutenants also going to SES in the future? We have a fair (somewhat) selection process now where there is a lot more transparency and accountability in the promotion process. If the Lt and Capt positions are changed to SES status, the administration is free to promote whoever they want with no restrictions, regardless of their qualifications. The main reason for having a formal selection process is to eliminate the "good ole boy" system of retaliation and backscratching that could occur. Although I'm sure this would NEVER happen with FHP, especially not with someone bypassing ranks because the director likes them, a fair selection process ensures accountability.

[Matt Puckett]

Matt,
What is the PBA's position on Captains going to SES status with the possibility of Lieutenants also going to SES in the future? We have a fair (somewhat) selection process now where there is a lot more transparency and accountability in the promotion process. If the Lt and Capt positions are changed to SES status, the administration is free to promote whoever they want with no restrictions, regardless of their qualifications. The main reason for having a formal selection process is to eliminate the "good ole boy" system of retaliation and backscratching that could occur. Although I'm sure this would NEVER happen with FHP, especially not with someone bypassing ranks because the director likes them, a fair selection process ensures accountability.

That is certainly one way to look at it. However, there is an alternative for the Lieutenants.

God bless you and your family Matt for your hard work and diligence.

DITTO

[Matt Puckett]

God bless you and your family Matt for your hard work and diligence.

DITTO

Thank you

[Matt Puckett]

Good article on the raises and pensions.
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20 ... ?p=1&tc=pg

Raises and worries for state workers
By Lloyd Dunkelberger
Capital Bureau
Published: Monday, May 27, 2013
In signing the $74 billion state budget, Gov. Rick Scott lauded the fact that Florida has one of the smallest state workforces, based on population — in the nation.

But that has been true of Florida government for years.

The state Department of Management Services reported in the last full budget year, Florida employed 97 full-time state workers for every 10,000 residents — the lowest ratio in the nation.

Those state workers have been a beleaguered group.

Leading up to the new budget, most had not had a general pay raise since October 2006. Thousands of state jobs have been eliminated in recent years, and Scott and lawmakers have pressed for major changes in the state pension plan.

Yet the new budget — which takes effect July 1 — reflects a much more positive future for state workers, including a pay raise of at least $1,000 for workers on Oct. 1.

Law enforcement fared even better with a July 1 pay adjustment that will be 5 percent for veteran officers, with those officers also in line for the general pay raise in October.

"There was agreement across the entire political spectrum, along with the leadership of the House and Senate, that after six years it was time to increase state employee salaries," said Doug Martin, a lobbyist for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, a union that represents the most state workers.

Martin said he was particularly pleased by the Legislature's decision to bring more equity to the pay of lower-earning workers, who have struggled in recent years without a salary increase while also facing the 2011 mandate to contribute 3 percent of their earnings to their pension plans.

A pay raise

Based on a plan first advanced in the House, lawmakers agreed that workers earning $40,000 or less will receive a $1,400 pay raise on Oct. 1.

Workers earning more will receive $1,000, and a portion of the workers will be in line for a one-time performance bonus of $600.

The average salary for workers in the state personnel system in 2012 was $38,165 per year, including senior managers. Without the senior managers, the bulk of the state workers — who fall into the "career service" category — earned $34,277, according to the DMS annual workforce survey.

Most rank-and-file state workers last received a 3 percent pay increase in 2006, although the workers also received a one-time $1,000 bonus in November 2007.

Lawmakers also made several significant adjustments to the pay for state law enforcement officers, including members of the Florida Highway Patrol and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

"This was a really good session for our state law enforcement and Highway Patrol officers," said Matt Puckett, a lobbyist for the Florida Police Benevolent Association, the union that represents those officers.

In addition to the pay increases, lawmakers did not make any changes to the state pension plan nor did they require workers to pay more for their health-care coverage, Puckett said.

The new budget will address a key issue that the PBA has been asking lawmakers to resolve for several years: salary compression. With essentially no pay raise in recent years, veteran officers found their pay becoming closer to what newly hired officers were earning, Puckett said.

In response to that, the new budget will provide a 5 percent pay increase on July 1 for law enforcement members who have five or more years of experience. Those with less than five years will be in line for a 3 percent adjustment.

Those officers also will be eligible for the Oct. 1 general pay raises, with some also qualifying for the $600 performance bonuses.

Many of the law enforcement officers have not had a general pay raise since 2006, although FHP members were given a 5 percent raise in 2008 and law-enforcement officers working for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission earned a 3 percent adjustment in the 2010-11 budget year, Puckett said.

Pension changes

Though the latest budget is looking good for state workers, their longer-term travails are not likely to end.

House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, is expected to press ahead with his plan to end the traditional state pension plan for newly hired public workers, which would impact not only state workers but also school system and county workers.

Gov. Scott also has called for pension changes, frequently citing the fact that while Florida has a well-funded pension plan, it still cannot meet all of its projected future payments to retirees — the so-called "unfunded actuarial liability."

The House passed Weatherford's pension plan this spring, but it faltered in the Senate, where lawmakers were advancing a plan to keep the traditional pension plan but offer more incentives to new workers to enroll in 401(k)-type plans.

Puckett, the PBA lobbyist, said his union expects a continued debate on the pension fund and is willing to negotiate on how the reforms should shape up.

"We've always tried to be somewhat reasonable," Puckett said.

He said the PBA wants workers to have "a good quality" retirement plan "but if we can make some reforms and tweaks that make sense, we're in favor of that."

Puckett noted the union supported Sen. Wilton Simpson's plan to offer incentives for workers changing their pension plans, although the organization opposed Weatherford's move to end the traditional pension for new workers in January 2014.

Martin said AFSCME will also continue to oppose any plans to abruptly end the traditional pension plan. "We think it's a good retirement system," he said.

As for the size of the state workforce, Martin said with the improving economy, the state will need to address "staffing issues" in many service areas.

"The state runs 24/7 — institutions and operations," Martin said. "This is an extremely lean state government. The state of Florida certainly should be proud of running such an efficient operation."

"To keep cutting and cutting positions" will hurt the quality of those services, Martin said.

AFSCME also will continue its opposition to the efforts to turn some state operations over to private companies. The union is waging a court fight in opposition to the Department of Corrections' plan to let private companies run prison health-care services, which now employ more than 2,000 state workers.

But Martin said state worker morale will be boosted in the coming year by the Legislature's decision to provide significant pay increases. He said legislative leaders made a "conscientious" decision to increase pay for the workers "and they appreciate that very much."

Copyright © 2013 HeraldTribune.com — All rights reserved. Restricted use only.

[Matt Puckett]

Here's an update on an old subject to this thread about the Legislature funding the UAL. To put it in some context - We had a discussion about just how much the Legislature should pay towards the UAL and how much all the other employers should pay. The worry from at least one poster was that the Legislature would not fund raises because of the UAL payment and that the local government should foot a large chunk of the bill. I thought it was a great back and forth discussion.

Here' are new rates for the 1,000 state, county and local employers to pay into the system: $177 million from state agencies, $100 million from universities and colleges, $300 million from school districts, $50 million from cities and special districts, and $264 million from Florida's 67 counties.