New salary survey

It appears that the salary survey we waited for is a big joke.

Only the city could make you wait for a survey that is complied with made up numbers.

The max pay for the different positions when you look at the survey is thousands of dollars more than the real salary paid by the city.

The way they obtained these magic numbers is they took a 2002 salary survey (that also had issues) added 3% from 2002-2009 and presto that's the amount you "should" be making. When it was explained to persons at city hall that we have a max out pay we did not have to make up one, (this is were it gets all "WFT") they said you have to see this as a pay projection. So, this is the amount of money you "could" be making, that you are "not" making, that "we don't" have to give you!

If you get a chance to view the full survey not just the police portion, you will notice that the city manager's salary and the percent his job is valued (over or under) in the job market, has somehow been left blank?

The PBA has been notified and a copy of the survey, projection or whatever they are going to call it has been set to Jim.

I suggest everyone contact Jim at the PBA and tell him how you feel about this BS.

did ayone really expect any different? we have a new chief, its to early to tell if he is going to be a good chief or a poor one. but we are still under the thumb of the city commision and the admin at city hall. i bet our chief wants to do good things, afterall, he is in charge and the pd reflects directly upon him. but what can he, or the pba do? does anyone see a pattern here? from even before the city stole our accrued pension money? and that was with different city comsioners. this is the same thing year after year. they dont give a crap and they make lies and bs to justify why they are screwing us. i know this is a really negative post. i guess im just blowing off steam. im tired of it year after year.

Listen folks, its this simple. This city has the best PD in the county and they have it on the cheap. Our problem is the commission. Too many of them are too content to just sit there and watch. Hell, one of them is trying to sell his house and move out of town, guess he is tired of the Bartow BS as well. The administration at city hall is incompetent. The overwhelming majority of them are Delegge holdovers and as far as Long goes, he is a $130,000 joke. He so far has been ineffective in working with the commission, he needs a boot. The economy sucks and we are gonna feel the effects of this downturn for a long time to come. Its just a shame our good will, trust and willingness to "help" the city through it's protracted recession by accepting less for the last 10 years has to be swept away in this economic undertow. As far as the survey, I think we could use it to show Long what "fuzzy math" truly is. Hang in there folks, call the PBA, daily, if your not a union member >>>>>>>JOIN THE UNION<<<<<<so our numbers can be strong, and hold tight and remember WE ARE NOT GREEN !!!!!

Thats right Yuppers, you are NOT green and Never will be. I dont want to have to point out how your city leaders TRIED unsuccessfully to dump you off on us. hmmm makes me wonder why they would want to rid themselves of the best PD in the county. Best PD, compared to what other PD? ( Please tell me what PD you're comparing yourself to). So keep rallying the troops Yuppers, because its lazy idiots like you that are keeping that department down. I know a few BPD officers ( and lets face it, we both know there are alot more) who actually WANT to go out and proactively fight crime and stir things up and make the criminals fear your Officers and the thunder they COULD bring if opposed. Its people like you who like it just the way its been for decades, slow, reactive, non-confrontatinal, scared. So keep the flames of lazyness glowing and the BPD "normalcy" in place and dont let the young new guys excel, who needs that. But to ANY of you Blue guys that WANT to get out there and try to make a difference, PLEASE apply with the PCSO, we'd love to have you.

No you dont have to point it out because its not true. The Sheriff and his Captain tried unsuccessfully to take over BPD. A new City Manager who has absolutely zero knowledge of the PD or the Officers decided it would save a little money so why should he give a S**T who runs Law Enforcement in Bartow? The City Leaders voted to keep the PD and not as you put it "dump" us off. And as far as lazy Officers.....I totally agree, they bring down a department and give the rest of us a bad name. But lets be honest, PCSO has just as many worthless Deputies compared to the proactive crime fighters as Bartow. So instead of taking Bartow issues, involving Bartow Police, and using it to make the daily PCSO stab at BPD, how bout move on and realize we are all the same. We all have problems, we all have pride. We all want to be treated fairly and honestly. And what exactly did poster "yuppers" write that made you think he was a lazy idiot? Because he vented (strongly) about issues in the city and the department? So someone who posts BPD issues on a BPD site is "lazy"? What does that make PCSO? Have you read all the posts on your site? Holy crap you have alot of lazy, lazy, idiots if thats your definition.

Allow me to join this one. While you and the rest of the BPD officers whine about not getting a raise and struggle to keep what you have, the PCSO is building a multi-million dollar facility on cr 540. yes its paid for by tax dollars ( yours included, thanks for the contiribution of our new building ) as well as ANOTHER substation in northeast. and with this growing progress, we have recently received grants for 30+ Deputies and 30+ SSO's. why do you think that is? probably because its obvious we are growing ,progressing, & expanding. Because we are constantly advancing with the times, not trying to keep it "the way it is, and always has been". hmmm I havent heard of bartow progressing anywhere, just city managers and police chiefs being fired or quitting, AWESOME PROGRESS! and while were talking about what the PCSO and the future of law enforcement in Polk Co, if you read the ledger a month or so ago, you wouldve read where Sheriff Judd and the President of now,Polk State College, have agreed to build a 30+ million police academy at the above mentioned PCSO building on 540, but oddly enough I didnt see where the article included any input from bartow or its PD, I wonder why? oh wait, thats because its realized that the PCSO is the future of law enforcement in Polk Co. I agree with you when you said we are all the same but the next time "yuppers" wants to make the statement "we are not green" or whatever he said, he should make sure he, and your dept, have something to show for it when you're trying to make it seem like you're the "best pd in the county". so go back to sleep but please remember, we may bicker back and forth on here, but if you or any other BPD officer needed s35, I'd be the first to respond as I would expect the same from you. be safe !

Juddites....what lemmings !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Juddites.... thats awesome... um, when the building is completed im sure the Sheriff will have a county wide open house type thing and invite every polk co citizen to show them what their tax dollars have done. Your entire dept should attend and see all the advanced equipment, buildings, training ect you will NEVER have. But keep telling yourself you're the best PD in the county and ill continue to be a lemming and follow the PCSO into the future. back to bed now, back to bed :devil:

Best PD in the county? Is that with or without one of the highest crime rate in Polk (read the county UCR's for the past..oh, say 5, 6 or 7 years). BAD move not going green. You're getting nowhere fast.

Please go away. If you aren't a member of BPD then why should you care what we do? Go enjoy your new building, please. I work here because I want to. Take your energy and pour it into your agency. We are here because we want to be.

As for Watching, ask George Long, (534-0100) why he cut 6 more police officers from our budget for 2009/2010 if our crime rate is so high. Maybe he could shed some light on why we don't need those officers. He didn't ask our administration for any input on what the impact would be on our effectiveness before he decided to cut them out. Ask him why he pulled those officers positions from right under the nose of the new chief. He didn't even inform him of it. Chief Hall found out through the grapevine. Go ask George, please. And if you are a citizen of Bartow, get involved other than posting your views on here, we could use your help. We all know we need to improve in many areas and we will. Also, go ask our commissioners. They would love to hear from you. Here is their information.

James Clements
Seat No. 1 At Large

Commissioner Clements took office on May 1, 2006. He holds Seat #1 At Large. He is employed by Bentley Brothers, Inc. His term expires in April 2012.

Email: jfclements@cityofbartow.net


Mayor J. Adrian Jackson (Mayor/City Commissioner)
Seat No. 3 North District


MAYOR J. Adrian Jackson took office on May 7, 2007. His term expires May 2010. He holds Seat 3 North District.
Email: ajjack@cityofbartow.net

Patrick "Pat" Huff (City Commissioner)
Seat No. 2 Central District


Mr. Huff was first elected to Seat 2 Central District in November 1999, and took office January 2000. His term expires in April 2012.
Email: phuff@cityofbartow.net


Leo E. Longworth (City Commissioner)
Seat No. 5 East District

Mr. Longworth was first elected in November 1995, and took office January 1996. His term will expire May 2011. Owner of State Farm Insurance

Seat No. 5 – East District
Email: llongworth@cityofbartow.net


Vice Mayor Wayne Lewis (Vice Mayor/City Commissioner)
Seat No. 4 At Large

Vice Mayor Wayne Lewis holds Seat 4 At Large. He took office on May 5, 2008. His term expires in May 2011.
email: wlewis@cityofbartow.net

Should have gone blue when ya' had the chance.

Why do the "Juddites" stay on you guys so much about going green? Seems like they cannot stand BPD Officers, So I am confused at why they are always barking at you guys going where the grass is no greener.

Don't they have enough county to cover? you would think that they would appreciate the fact that there is still a few city police departments that cover their own areas, that way each P.C.S.O officer would not be stretched to the limit running from one call on one side of the county to half way across to another call.

P.C.S.O officers are nothing more than decorated secretaries! All they do all day long is go from call to call and take more reports than you can possibly imagine. Yeah, there may be action to get on from time to time, but the big hits and big arrest usually come from the SWAT teams, or Procap Squads. There is not much for the road officers to do except go out every day and make the same old arrest that the BPD officers do. The difference is P.C.S.O officers have to drive a longer distance to get to a call, and have to do a hell of alot more paperwork in a day.

Polk County Sheriff's Office current job openings



1).Deputy Sheriff (Rotating shifts and/or 12 hour shifts)
$36,180 Annually after training Full Time

2).Part-Time Animal Control Officer $ 9.41 Hourly Part Time

3).Detention Deputy # (Rotating and/or 12 hour shift)
$36,180 Annually after training

In some cities, police officer salaries may be less than what bums can rake in on a yearly basis.
it seems increasing police officer salaries leads to lower crime. It makes sense, especially when considering the dangers associated with being a cop. If you're making more to put your life in danger each day, well, it just sweetens an already-tough deal.

Salary Surveys are suppose to be tools used to determine the median or average compensation paid to employees in one or more jobs. Compensation data, collected from several employers, is analyzed to develop an understanding of the amount of compensation paid.

Now the City needs to use the salary survey to accurately compensate their employees with competitive wages against what others in the state and region are paying for an identical job description.

What is the purpose of having a Salary Survey if the City will not give any raises?