Pay steps?

[TheBenjamins]

Hey guy's quick question. Are you guys like FHP and don't have any raises/step increases? Is $38,000 the magical number? I'd be P-O'd if I was a 5 year vet making the same as a first day officer.

[Guest]

Unfortunately that is the truth. There are a some old timers here that got the step raises back when this Dept. had them, some 18yrs ago or more. This job will not support a family or make you a living, you will always be poor. They always raise the starting salary every so many years, and that puts the starting people almost there with the veterans in salary. If you are lucky, you will get promoted, and that is far and few in-between. There isnt much pay raise in promotion unless you make it to Sgt. or beyond. If you are not married with a spouse bringing in some income, or retired with a pension coming in, it will be very hard to make decent career here as an officer. That is why this job has always been a starting job for officers. If you want to make a career in police work, your best bet is to go to a bigger agency that has decent pay raises yearly enforced by a strong police contract.

[TheBenjamins]

Wow thanks for the info. I'm a Campus Officer in another state but was looking towards Florida. Campuses here all start at ~$44,000 with raises every year. That is down right ridiculous/disrespectful that you guy's don't get raises. No motivation to work towards something if you don't get rewarded putting years in. Hell, even if they gave you guys a performance based raise between 2-5%. Depending in your performance yearly you would either be on the low or high end.

[Guest]

To put things into perspective, FHP troopers make just under $34,000 a year with little to no pay raises. The big money is not at the State level no matter where you are.

[Guest]

There are cash bonuses given from the University, but they will be cash and not added to your retirement..and it is judged on the work you do buy your annual evaluation.

That will depend on two things;. If you get a good annual evaluation from your supervisor, which a lot don't even with money envolved (still haven't figured that one out yet from working here, about that...knownig they hurt your retrirement....other than the supervisor you are working for has personality problems with you and does it on purpose to screw you out of the cash bonus coming up) The second is your discipline record, and they do find it easy to discipline you so you dont get the cash bonus.

[Guest]

Guess you will actually have to work hard to earn your bonus money. Oh the horrors and injustice!!!

[Guest]

That last comment proves what I was trying to express. Friends, put your career in a decent city or county police dept., where raises are based equally on what you do everyday, and not based like on the FHP method on how many traffic stops you do, or if you get along with your supervisor, in a childishway... personality conflicts with a supervisor that has never had any other experience in the job besides USF PD. Just a warning from experience.

[Guest]

Incompetent, company people are rewarded and protected while everyone else here is monitored under a microscope just waiting to pounced upon.

The raises are pay for performance too so if your in someones sights you'll be stuck at starting pay for years.

The only ones who stay at USFPD are retired people from other Departments and those who would be useless in a real agency. For the rest its just a temporary stop in their careers.

[Guest]

The only ones who stay at USFPD are retired people from other Departments and those who would be useless in a real agency. For the rest its just a temporary stop in their careers.

Boy, you got that one right. Watch out for them skateboarders.

[Guest]

On a real police department, they judge your work as an officer in a balance of work...serving the community, handleing calls for service, arrests, and traffic tickets given out, you got the best raise unless you were a screw up. Now under the Pay for Performance, you will not get the best raise, it has gone back to the old standards in police work that was found wrong and done away by the police union....., of how many arrest you make or how many traffic tickets you do. It has gone back to the way the rest of the business and university system works, which is totally wrong for police work on a daily basis. It doest work in police work and the average officer doing a good job out there will not get the best pay raise because of it. Its a sad how this department has let that pay for performance slip into our contracts. Future officers coming on the job will pay for this as well as being penalized for Gov. Scotts bills to take away money from police officers. The university community will pay for it a lot in tickets and arrests to get a the best evaluation for the "pay for performance." And it is true on this job, if your supervisor has personality problem with you, you will not get raises. Period. My advice is don't put your career in here if you want to make your career as a police officer. Go go to a PD that is a PD and what you went to school for and an academy and trained for, otherwise you will be under the same pay raise standards as the regluar university employee...custodians, plumbers, grounds keepers ect....not under the tough training you went through to put you life on the line everyday on this job. Go where you will be rewarded for it.

[Guest]

The above post is right on the money. The pay for performance system is not fair for Law enforcement and especially this Department. Compare an officer who is answering calls, writing a fair amount of tickets and makes arrests when needed. Doing great and is rewarded with a good eval and therefore gets a "top" offered raise. Look at another officer who works the med center for example (I AM JUST USING THIS AS AN EXAMPLE, NOT TO DISRESPECT ANYONE!!) The med Center duties are a bit "slower" in nature but at the end of the year that Officer does what a typical Med Center officer needs to do and get the exact same eval and raise as the guy who is writing reports, writing tickets and making arrests.

Its a twisted way of doing business if you ask me. But then again in the eyes of USF we're as equal as the guys cutting the grass or mopping the bathrooms.

[Guest]

The little baby does not like it when the grownups make him do his chores.
Cry, little baby, cry.
The little baby does not like it when he has to go poopy on the potty in order to receive a treat.
Fuss, little baby, fuss.

This is real easy, lazy people. Come to work and actually do work instead of playing on your iPad, texting on your phone, sleeping in the "secret" place, and gossiping with your pals all day and night.

[Guest]

The above post is right on the money. The pay for performance system is not fair for Law enforcement and especially this Department. Compare an officer who is answering calls, writing a fair amount of tickets and makes arrests when needed. Doing great and is rewarded with a good eval and therefore gets a "top" offered raise. Look at another officer who works the med center for example (I AM JUST USING THIS AS AN EXAMPLE, NOT TO DISRESPECT ANYONE!!) The med Center duties are a bit "slower" in nature but at the end of the year that Officer does what a typical Med Center officer needs to do and get the exact same eval and raise as the guy who is writing reports, writing tickets and making arrests.

Its a twisted way of doing business if you ask me. But then again in the eyes of USF we're as equal as the guys cutting the grass or mopping the bathrooms.

I guess I don't quite understand. Sure, the two officers you described might have different duties based on their assignments, but if the med center officer is doing the best job he can on his assignment, why should he not get the same evaluation and pay raise that the patrol officer got? They are both police officers; they just have different assignments. That is no different from any other police department anywhere you go.

Perhaps I just don't understand pay for performance as it is used at USF. It sounds like it is if you perform well in your job, no matter what that job is, you get a good evaluation and raise. If you are a screwup, then you don't. That is the way it should be. I do agree that personality issues between supervisor and employee have no business in the mix, and if they do come in to play, that supervisor needs to be replaced. A good supervisor needs to be able to put their personal feelings aside and act professionally.

[Guest]

As far as the Med Center goes and I could be wrong, but I think they pay for and fund at least two spots on this Department. So, natuarly they expect some officers to be working those Med Center areas. There is a lot of stuff there and a lot of University type matters as the University Med Center goes that need to be looked after and taken care of. There are two working there now. A Sgt. that put at least 20yrs on the job as officer and most of that being a patrol supervisor for years. The other officer has more years than that working in patrol. Every department has these types of jobs for older officers that have put their time in on the job. You younger officers don't understand that and gripe and complain, and you do not recognize senority and probably won't be on this job more than 5yrs. Someday, somewhere, if you make it in this career that long, you will be a senior officer and will have a different opinion. It's especially true of these new officers that come on this Dept., and the ask why are these people working at the Med Center and are not doing as much as I have to do working in the patrol division. Put your 20yrs on the job here and you will have a different outlook.

[Guest]

This is a problem I have seen with this job in wanting to put a career in here. I have worked here for a few years and as far as I have seen from the way things are done around here, that pretty much qualifys me to put in my point of view for my short time on the job. Those Med center officers don't do as much as put on the patrol, but they have earned their job. I am wanting to move up in this PD, but I don't see much chance in that unless someone quits, retires, or the Chief decides to try and fire someone. There has to be some spots for people that actually want to stay on this Dept. for years and retire like most of the other agencies? There are a lot of people that have retired from other agencies working here as well as a lot of newbies like me that have no time on the job here that bitch.... that want to cut the throat of the people that have invested their career here 20yrs or more...at the UP and have made it their job.