03-29-2008, 03:02 PM
Sergeant proposes rollback of Tampa police lieutenants
By Janet Zink, Times Staff Writer
Published Wednesday, March 19, 2008 8:31 PM
TAMPA — In the years since Chief Steve Hogue took over the Tampa Police Department in 2003, the number of lieutenants has increased from 13 to 26.
Meanwhile, the number of sergeants the lieutenants supervise has declined from 81 to 71 in the same period.
City Council member Tom Scott wants to know if the department might be able to save money by rolling back those upper ranks.
Scott requested a report after Tampa police Sgt. Borthland Murray sent a memo last month to the council and Mayor Pam Iorio saying the department could save $6-million in salaries, pension payments and other benefits in part by eliminating 14 police lieutenants and one major.
"If we can save $6-million without jeopardizing public safety, it's something we should look at," Scott said. "That's the issue for me. Not that we have a hierarchy."
The pay range for lieutenants is $89,377 to $97,052. Sergeants earn between $72,113 and $88,504.
In a memo to the council, Hogue said Murray's suggestion that the department could save $6-million by eliminating 15 positions is "wildly inaccurate."
"Using his figure would necessitate that each of these 15 employees receives an average salary and benefits of $400,000 a year. No city employee makes anywhere near that kind of compensation," he wrote.
Hogue said after he was hired, he reorganized the department, cutting three deputy chief positions, "thus removing an entire level of management," and 18 other lower-level positions.
He also added an assistant chief, and increased the number of lieutenants to analyze crime statistics and develop crime-fighting strategies.
The reorganization saved $150,000 in salaries, Hogue said.
And the approach has contributed to a 42.5 percent drop in the city's crime rate over the past five years, he said. The most recent statistics show crime decreased by 10 percent in Tampa in 2007.
Murray argues that the department could do the same job with 12 lieutenants.
"We edit the reports that the officers send through. The lieutenants edit the same reports," said Murray, a sergeant who has served on the Tampa police force for nearly 20 years. "They basically are there to recheck what we've checked." (LT's that check reports...ya right!)
But department spokeswoman Laura McElroy said lieutenants supervise squads that include 10 sergeants, corporals and officers, and spend time on the streets. "It's hard to oversee from a desk," she said.
Greg Stout, president of the police union, said although he is aware of Murray's proposed budget cuts, he hasn't heard complaints from the officers in the union about the increase in lieutenants.
"That's a management decision," Stout said. "If the chief believes he needs a significant amount of lieutenants to run his police department, so far as I can tell, it hasn't had a direct bearing on our day-to-day business."
Janet Zink can be reached at jzink@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3401.
By Janet Zink, Times Staff Writer
Published Wednesday, March 19, 2008 8:31 PM
TAMPA — In the years since Chief Steve Hogue took over the Tampa Police Department in 2003, the number of lieutenants has increased from 13 to 26.
Meanwhile, the number of sergeants the lieutenants supervise has declined from 81 to 71 in the same period.
City Council member Tom Scott wants to know if the department might be able to save money by rolling back those upper ranks.
Scott requested a report after Tampa police Sgt. Borthland Murray sent a memo last month to the council and Mayor Pam Iorio saying the department could save $6-million in salaries, pension payments and other benefits in part by eliminating 14 police lieutenants and one major.
"If we can save $6-million without jeopardizing public safety, it's something we should look at," Scott said. "That's the issue for me. Not that we have a hierarchy."
The pay range for lieutenants is $89,377 to $97,052. Sergeants earn between $72,113 and $88,504.
In a memo to the council, Hogue said Murray's suggestion that the department could save $6-million by eliminating 15 positions is "wildly inaccurate."
"Using his figure would necessitate that each of these 15 employees receives an average salary and benefits of $400,000 a year. No city employee makes anywhere near that kind of compensation," he wrote.
Hogue said after he was hired, he reorganized the department, cutting three deputy chief positions, "thus removing an entire level of management," and 18 other lower-level positions.
He also added an assistant chief, and increased the number of lieutenants to analyze crime statistics and develop crime-fighting strategies.
The reorganization saved $150,000 in salaries, Hogue said.
And the approach has contributed to a 42.5 percent drop in the city's crime rate over the past five years, he said. The most recent statistics show crime decreased by 10 percent in Tampa in 2007.
Murray argues that the department could do the same job with 12 lieutenants.
"We edit the reports that the officers send through. The lieutenants edit the same reports," said Murray, a sergeant who has served on the Tampa police force for nearly 20 years. "They basically are there to recheck what we've checked." (LT's that check reports...ya right!)
But department spokeswoman Laura McElroy said lieutenants supervise squads that include 10 sergeants, corporals and officers, and spend time on the streets. "It's hard to oversee from a desk," she said.
Greg Stout, president of the police union, said although he is aware of Murray's proposed budget cuts, he hasn't heard complaints from the officers in the union about the increase in lieutenants.
"That's a management decision," Stout said. "If the chief believes he needs a significant amount of lieutenants to run his police department, so far as I can tell, it hasn't had a direct bearing on our day-to-day business."
Janet Zink can be reached at jzink@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3401.