2020 Budget

[Unregistered]

Oh Elaine really writing for your husband again. There are many in this city that know how your husband drinks and drives. There are many that know what the tax payers had to pay for at the airport. Wrong again. The 4 police officers at the west villages are fine it is the five other new hires. No your husband was not drunk at the last budget meeting it was the one before. The only reason her one is because the other one running was bullied out of the race. Please Cook is not the only one that knows the truth. Keep your husband off the roads for the sake of the tax payers that pay for his booze.

Be a man or in this case a disgruntled ex commissioner or one of her cronies. No one was bullied, pete won with a sizeable margin. Trying to smear this man with your baseless rant. So concerned are you, next time 911 and report it, its really that simple. If he was the drunk you portray then the mere 30 grand he gets to work more than full time hours wouldn't be enough to feed his alleged habit. Grow up, go back on your meds or just STFU. You got a personal beef, do it face to face. Be a what ever you are and either confront him or call 911, you don't even have to leave your name. Your baseless accusation is nothing more than a cheap attempt to smear another persons name and reputation. Just so you know if it wasn't for the commissioners who voted for the uninflated budget, and argued against the big raise,Hanks and his crew could have gotten whatever they wanted. Your days in the limelight in NP are done !!!!!!!!!!! Also it has always been the unwritten rule we never attack or mention ones family or spouse, Never !!!!!

[Stephanie Gibson]

Hanks,He needs his 10 gallon hat to fit his ego, he is history in the near future, he is done. But if you scroll thru the ABCD and M chronicles, I seem to remember you defending him when he was running, it's neither here or there but you also advocates against former commissioner Moore, She was clearly entrenched with the last administration and needed to go and the taxpayers agreed. (Benderson affiliation strike a bell) Personalities aside, Pete loves this city. He went against the dais and fought to at least lower the tax hike. He is only one person. Everyone knows if you have a problem in North Port and it involves the city, just call Pete, He will work to resolve or at lest try. Not like any of the former commissioners and some of the present. We have elected commissioners on likability not qualifications and rightfully so since there are no/zero/none qualifications other than the basic ones. I ask just how do we make it better ??? You were a staunch advocate of the new chief, what has he done other than spend money and promote CM and his cronies. He has created numerous non essential positions and lured many of his former Lee County boys and given them good jobs, but in his defense, he is likable. Now he wants a new 35 plus million police station, has extensive fleet of expensive vehicles. Things were disastrous in the last admin. City gave the PD big raises, they are now making more money than most City PD;s in the area. This in addition to the free SUV, free gas and free insurance we the taxpayers also provide. What he did was simple he rode out the storm and backed off the troops and didn't illegally fire good employees. He wears no cape per se. He backed CM on the tank and also on the unneeded, unnecessary rainbow traffic fleet with the ghost graphics, to the tune of what 300 plus thousand dollars. They(traffic) do not answer calls, they only write traffic tickets. I will admit Pete bought into there BS, hook line and sinker as did the other commissioners. The commissioners should direct Lear to cut the dept budgets by five to ten percent. We don't need four more officers, reassign them. Put the traffic unit back on patrol to answer calls. Patrol is certainly not overworked since the volunteers and civilians work the non criminal calls. Abolish the take home car program. This is just one dept, I am sure there is plenty to cut in all city depts. Organize, petition and make waves as you did to help rid this city of the last administration. Pete and Debbie are doing a great job, VC, Hanks and JL are history . As the previous election has taught NP, we are no longer going to just sit back and take it, fiscal responsibility whether they like it or not.

I was never in the Hanks camp. I've never had a sense of who he really was.. I am seeking genuine. He is a social media branding experiment gone awry when he started buying into his own self hype. Mayor Moore did go along to get along way too much but at least we knew who she was. Neither was a choice for me.. In the end, I did vote for Hanks out of solidarity of where the 'Time for Change' discussions wanted. I'd prolly do the same again but Hanks wont ever get another vote from me, I've seen the man under the mask, I dont like him.

Pete is Pete. If he is drinking and driving, that must stop period. We knew his strengths and weaknesses. He is a strong supporter of PD and FD. He wants what is best for the City. I think he could be a good Commissioner but he has to find his own legs, trust himself and not rely and follow others whom would use him to their own ends. Be that the Mayor, fellow Commissioners, Citizens or the Bureauacy. Everyone is out for their own agenda. He will never undo the spiteful hateful variety, ignore her.

For me, the pimped out Bearcat is all on CM and City Manager. Garrison came into last years budget meetings during his first week on the job. How it is used or not used is the Chiefs to own. I strongly oppose the 'plant a sign' thing rolled out this week. It is wrong on many levels. Wonder what his thoughts would be if signs were planted on the City green everytime a cop or the dept got their ass in a crack?

Otherwise, as for what has he done or how is he doing,... I have been working hard on rebuilding my trust in NPPD. Part of that is trying not to watch so closely but still have faith in the new Chief. I think he should be afforded more time to let his mold start taking shape.

The new HQ is not going to be happening anytime soon and I'm hearing all kind of scuttlebutt about alternatives.. some of that likely wont set well with many on this site. I guess we will see if the need to expand is as strong as what will need to be sacrificed to get it.

I agree 100% on take it to the individual and leave the family out of it principle.

On a side note: Steve Burke is a retired LEO and has started North Port Fl Taxpayer Association page (link on City Watch page) to help vet issues and share information so we can get in front of the City spending. This might be a way for yall to provide input into the PD policies and spending. Take home cars is a constant hot topic among taxpayers and I am certain it will be a topic on the table in contract negotitiations. The new HQs and duplicate services are likely to be topics going forward. Please encourage your families and friends to join and advocate for your ideas.

Thank yall for what you do.. Stay safe.

[Unregistered]

Yes, the police budget is over inflated and out of control. On the backs of the taxpayer. To put Debbie and Pete in the same category is a sham. Debbie is the only one that had our backs. The great thing is no one is in charge of what to say. Your opinion is that your opinion. To lump Pete and Deb together is an absolute ignorant statement. Furthermore anyone that does not see the lack of intelligence that this commission has speaks volumes. The only person that stood up to the over inflated police budget is Deb.

It has been well known for years that pete never writes for himself. His wife writes everything while he sits back smoking and drinking all day. Those are the facts. Does not surprise me that he was voted in. This town is filled with those types.

I guess the town is waking up when it hits your wallet. I love freedom of speech. No one is in charge of that. Almost laughable that some think they are.

[Unregistered]

COPWATCH HAS BEN HERE 4 YEARS EXPOSEING YOURE CORUPTION,HOW ABOUT THE FELONY CHARGE AND 5 MILION DOLAR FINE 4 THE GUN PAWN LIST,HOW ABOUT THE CHARGE 4 LETING CRIMINALS GO THAT DID EXCESIVE FORCE,HOW ABOUT THE GUY U HIRED THAT U NEW FAILED THE QUESTION DO U HAVE SEX WITH ANIMALS,AND IT TOOK SARASOTA 2 GET U 2 ASK HIM R U,AND HE WAS HAVING SEX WITH HIS DOG..
copwatch was there telling the sheeple about you're stupidity..
https://youtu.be/NPAGeiV3Aus COPWATCH TOLD THE SHEEPLE THE TRUTH OF THE COPS TYRANNY ON THEM,THEY THINK U R A PIGGY BANK..CHARLOTTE COUNTY,SHERIFF,BILL PRUMMELL DID NOT AREST DRUG DEALER DETECTIVE JAMES WHITE @NorthPortPolice

@CCSOFLSheriff

@PGPDFL

@CollierSheriff

[Unregistered]

I was never in the Hanks camp. I've never had a sense of who he really was.. I am seeking genuine. He is a social media branding experiment gone awry when he started buying into his own self hype. Mayor Moore did go along to get along way too much but at least we knew who she was. Neither was a choice for me.. In the end, I did vote for Hanks out of solidarity of where the 'Time for Change' discussions wanted. I'd prolly do the same again but Hanks wont ever get another vote from me, I've seen the man under the mask, I dont like him.

Pete is Pete. If he is drinking and driving, that must stop period. We knew his strengths and weaknesses. He is a strong supporter of PD and FD. He wants what is best for the City. I think he could be a good Commissioner but he has to find his own legs, trust himself and not rely and follow others whom would use him to their own ends. Be that the Mayor, fellow Commissioners, Citizens or the Bureauacy. Everyone is out for their own agenda. He will never undo the spiteful hateful variety, ignore her.

For me, the pimped out Bearcat is all on CM and City Manager. Garrison came into last years budget meetings during his first week on the job. How it is used or not used is the Chiefs to own. I strongly oppose the 'plant a sign' thing rolled out this week. It is wrong on many levels. Wonder what his thoughts would be if signs were planted on the City green everytime a cop or the dept got their ass in a crack?

Otherwise, as for what has he done or how is he doing,... I have been working hard on rebuilding my trust in NPPD. Part of that is trying not to watch so closely but still have faith in the new Chief. I think he should be afforded more time to let his mold start taking shape.

The new HQ is not going to be happening anytime soon and I'm hearing all kind of scuttlebutt about alternatives.. some of that likely wont set well with many on this site. I guess we will see if the need to expand is as strong as what will need to be sacrificed to get it.

I agree 100% on take it to the individual and leave the family out of it principle.

On a side note: Steve Burke is a retired LEO and has started North Port Fl Taxpayer Association page (link on City Watch page) to help vet issues and share information so we can get in front of the City spending. This might be a way for yall to provide input into the PD policies and spending. Take home cars is a constant hot topic among taxpayers and I am certain it will be a topic on the table in contract negotitiations. The new HQs and duplicate services are likely to be topics going forward. Please encourage your families and friends to join and advocate for your ideas.

Thank yall for what you do.. Stay safe.

if you remember correctly the new chief endorsed the bearcat idea and did nix the freebee army vehicle idea, in saying that he also endorsed the new traffic unit. If you remember correctly KV (in a sane moment) disbanded the previous unit. He did this to put the officers back on patrol. This admin on the insistence of then Capt CM not only resurrected the unit but spent some 350K on those rainbow colored cars, took what 6 officers from patrol and for what, they sit by the road and write tickets. Each one of these officers in traffic already had a marked unit fully equipped with radar, actually all patrol cars have radar, so essentially if we had 8 cars on the street all were essentially traffic units, what a waste. Then how about all the promotions of CM boyz, we now have more command staff than we ever had. Since the volunteers and civilian programs were instituted it freed up patrol for well patrol. Does NP have the crime to require 130 plus officers and civilian staff. I think not. We have an unused Police station on North Port Blvd. With the city expanding and bringing the unincorporated area into the city its time to use this station as a substation. Hire a civilian to man this station as a walk in center. Nix the idea of hiring more expensive officers, Nix the west village annex station, response time can be just as effective from NP blvd and we already paid for it. and most important they are close enough to respond to other areas if needed. Need more room for evidence, we have the never used jail holding facility, expand within , put up a portable storage area. There is tons of waste within the city budget. I will say and Steph you would agree, Asst Chief CM and the new chief can sell their ideas, we cannot any longer buy into there BS. We as a city need police protection, we want to be safe, but we should learn from the past and get control of our finances before we again go broke

[Unregistered]

Yes, the police budget is over inflated and out of control. On the backs of the taxpayer. To put Debbie and Pete in the same category is a sham. Debbie is the only one that had our backs. The great thing is no one is in charge of what to say. Your opinion is that your opinion. To lump Pete and Deb together is an absolute ignorant statement. Furthermore anyone that does not see the lack of intelligence that this commission has speaks volumes. The only person that stood up to the over inflated police budget is Deb.

It has been well known for years that pete never writes for himself. His wife writes everything while he sits back smoking and drinking all day. Those are the facts. Does not surprise me that he was voted in. This town is filled with those types.

I guess the town is waking up when it hits your wallet. I love freedom of speech. No one is in charge of that. Almost laughable that some think they are.

OK before the people who no nothing about police staffing keep ranting. Let shed some light. I am a retired law enforcement major from a very large agency that retired to North Port. I called North Port and asked them how many sworn officer positions they have. I was told they have 117 budgeted. The city population is somewhere close to 75,000. That means we have 1.58 officers in North Port per thousand. The national average is 2.4 per thousand and in Florida it is 2.48. My jurisdiction was much heavier populated but more condensed. This city has over 100 square miles of land making it one of the largest in the state!! To say their budget is over inflated is crazy and ludicrous at best. I'm not sure how they keep crime so low with such few officers. According to state and national standards they are in the neighborhood of being close to 40 officers short. If you don't believe me call them yourself. Then call FDLE and FBI and get the annual reports. I'm thankful I did not experience what you officers here do with some of your citizens and lack of support!! Just know come election time I will be speaking with my neighbors.

[Stephanie Gibson]

Yes, the police budget is over inflated and out of control. On the backs of the taxpayer. To put Debbie and Pete in the same category is a sham. Debbie is the only one that had our backs. The great thing is no one is in charge of what to say. Your opinion is that your opinion. To lump Pete and Deb together is an absolute ignorant statement. Furthermore anyone that does not see the lack of intelligence that this commission has speaks volumes. The only person that stood up to the over inflated police budget is Deb.

It has been well known for years that pete never writes for himself. His wife writes everything while he sits back smoking and drinking all day. Those are the facts. Does not surprise me that he was voted in. This town is filled with those types.

I guess the town is waking up when it hits your wallet. I love freedom of speech. No one is in charge of that. Almost laughable that some think they are.

if you remember correctly the new chief endorsed the bearcat idea and did nix the freebee army vehicle idea, in saying that he also endorsed the new traffic unit. If you remember correctly KV (in a sane moment) disbanded the previous unit. He did this to put the officers back on patrol. This admin on the insistence of then Capt CM not only resurrected the unit but spent some 350K on those rainbow colored cars, took what 6 officers from patrol and for what, they sit by the road and write tickets. Each one of these officers in traffic already had a marked unit fully equipped with radar, actually all patrol cars have radar, so essentially if we had 8 cars on the street all were essentially traffic units, what a waste. Then how about all the promotions of CM boyz, we now have more command staff than we ever had. Since the volunteers and civilian programs were instituted it freed up patrol for well patrol. Does NP have the crime to require 130 plus officers and civilian staff. I think not. We have an unused Police station on North Port Blvd. With the city expanding and bringing the unincorporated area into the city its time to use this station as a substation. Hire a civilian to man this station as a walk in center. Nix the idea of hiring more expensive officers, Nix the west village annex station, response time can be just as effective from NP blvd and we already paid for it. and most important they are close enough to respond to other areas if needed. Need more room for evidence, we have the never used jail holding facility, expand within , put up a portable storage area. There is tons of waste within the city budget. I will say and Steph you would agree, Asst Chief CM and the new chief can sell their ideas, we cannot any longer buy into there BS. We as a city need police protection, we want to be safe, but we should learn from the past and get control of our finances before we again go broke

Debbie absolutely stands alone when it comes to trying to cut budget. I'm overly partial because i know she does the hard work, others play by what serves them or rubber stamps staff asks for.

Hanks barking that the CM already cut 5.5 million is BS. The dream asks by Dept heads never made it to the budget.. there was 1.7 million in the book that were Not Recommended by CM. I think the truth is closer to they buried the pool last year and tried to make up this round.. fluffing further so next election cycle the taxpayers wouldnt be blaming Hanks. His stmt.. I'm the only candidate in the country running on raising taxes is gonna bite him in the azz.

I agree the budget was less than 12 when I started paying attention, in 5 years it blew up to 20 million. I also think your staff count is way low.. last I looked we were pushing 160. I will check that one.

The traffic unit is a please the people move.. everyone whines that traffic is too fast on this street or that street so they gave em what they asked for.. and yes, 4 or 5 years ago people were *****ing yall were making a killing on speeding tickets, all 2 bucks per ticket..,. So they disbanded to shut that narrative up.

Everyone wants everything and then wants it for nothing! Welcome to 21st American society..

[Unregistered]

Debbie absolutely stands alone when it comes to trying to cut budget. I'm overly partial because i know she does the hard work, others play by what serves them or rubber stamps staff asks for.

Hanks barking that the CM already cut 5.5 million is BS. The dream asks by Dept heads never made it to the budget.. there was 1.7 million in the book that were Not Recommended by CM. I think the truth is closer to they buried the pool last year and tried to make up this round.. fluffing further so next election cycle the taxpayers wouldnt be blaming Hanks. His stmt.. I'm the only candidate in the country running on raising taxes is gonna bite him in the azz.

I agree the budget was less than 12 when I started paying attention, in 5 years it blew up to 20 million. I also think your staff count is way low.. last I looked we were pushing 160. I will check that one.

The traffic unit is a please the people move.. everyone whines that traffic is too fast on this street or that street so they gave em what they asked for.. and yes, 4 or 5 years ago people were *****ing yall were making a killing on speeding tickets, all 2 bucks per ticket..,. So they disbanded to shut that narrative up.

Everyone wants everything and then wants it for nothing! Welcome to 21st American society..

I called them on the phone and asked them. Remember it is total sworn not civilian staff! That is an entirely different beast. I would be curious as to how large the officer patrol zones are compared to my previous agency or most cities for that matter. I would think they would be huge. I am happy to help you cause but only if you will be honest with your numbers and assessments. Forgive if I am skeptical but frankly I have never witnessed this kind of bashing and uneducated responses to government operations. Maybe it is because North Port is smaller and some citizens just understand how government works???? In all fairness, I can't judge the behavior of the commissioners as I have not taken the time to attend a meeting or watch online. We chose to retire to North Port for several factors. One of course was crime rates being low.

[Stephanie Gibson]

Welcome to North Port Major. How long have you been in town? I coulda used some help a few years ago..

This board is uhm salty at times but healthy to vent and we all want the same thing... and that is to support NPPD. We jes have different thoughts, ideas and ways. =)

National Night Out is Oct 1st at City Hall.

[Unregistered]

Welcome to North Port Major. How long have you been in town? I coulda used some help a few years ago..

This board is uhm salty at times but healthy to vent and we all want the same thing... and that is to support NPPD. We jes have different thoughts, ideas and ways. =)

National Night Out is Oct 1st at City Hall.

Thanks. We moved here three months ago. Much slower pace and we like that. Still getting our bearings and feeling our way around the city.