thoughts

I wanted to express some thoughts after reading through a huge amount of posts. I am not a cop, and have owned a local business since 1979. Grew up here as well. I have known Snag Thompson, Frank Wanicka very well. McDougall was a squirrel in my book, and Shoap and Scott do not impress me either. All of them at one time or another have approached my business for donations which I give to all candidates the maximums that have been allowed at those times. Reason being I do not like to pick sides or basically get on the wrong side. I know how that works.

One of the things I have noticed is that years ago, granted the dept was smaller. But there was a geniune comradery among the employees that I guess is not there anymore. I am appalled at the amount of crying, and whining that goes on today. Apparently nobody is happy, and I cannot say what the conditions are like. It may be very well true.

But one thing I know is my business has suffered in sales since the "bubble" burst a few years back. We barely are surviving. I do what I do because it is my choice, just as it is yours to do what you do. I have not had a raise or given our employees a raise (we have 55+ employees) as we simply do not have the bottomline to give. On the same note I have not laid off any employee and have pledged not to. I am going to honor that commitment.

What burns me is I have looked at your payroll numbers (because it is public record) and whereas I agree there is pay parity issues and compression, most of you are compensated very well. That and a take home vehicle that none of you to my knowledge are paying tax to the IRS for (which should be, and don't give the excuse of ON CALL because the courts have ruled otherwise), you have awesome benefits, and a retirement. Granted the lawmakers in Tallahassee are screwing with all government employees, and I have been vocal to all of them regarding such in support of you. I will be the first to tell you that I admire anyone who is in a high risk position, as well as those civilian positions who work on holidays, high stress, and weird long hours.

I cannot believe the amount of whining about the pay, the backstabbing, and the general comments I read. It becomes hard to support you when this is going on. Harder and harder. Upon sampling some other forums in north Fla, and such there are counties where the comments are all positive and supportive. Good discussions etc.

I do not support our county commissioners because they are out of control. They have lost touch with us, and need to be removed. But I support them in doling out your payroll and most (not all) of your salaries. Although I do not support the Sheriff in certain areas, I do support him in the raise issue for the time being. I would LOVE a raise too. But I choose to do what I do and I have to live with that choice.

Same goes for you. You chose to do what you do. No one is twisting your arm making you go out and put your life on the line. Unlike our military, you do have a career choice. Not saying I do not appreciate and honor what you do. I simply am saying don't use that excuse continuously because people will shut down.

I could really go on and on. But I am not. What I really think (my opinion) you should do is keep your comments to yourselves. Vote the man out if you do not like him. And if you do not like him and he is your employer then quit. Go elsewhere, but do not collect a paycheck from him and turn around and stab him in the back. Your power is in the voting booth. Not here.

As far as unions are concerned I have three older and younger brothers and sister whom two have unions where they work. They do not agree with them, they are not producing for them, and are of little use to anybody. Again my opinion. If you think they are the cats meow I say go for it. But good luck in getting anything from a union.

As to the younger mindsets here where you are bulletproof and beyond error, reanalyze yourself, and start showing you are truly a professional. Hard to support someone who openly displays negative and unprofessional behaviors. It hurts everyone.

Hopefully the economy will improve, and you will get commissioners who will fund you instead of baseball stadiums without the citizens vote, and such.

I will continue to support you. All I ask is that you make us proud of you and rethink these undesirable behaviors.

Our biggest issue is not a raise, but to implement a step-plan. Step-plan provides guidance of future outlook. Every public safety agency in this county has a step-plan. From city cops to firefighters. It is unacceptable to pay 10 year deputies $45,000 when our counterparts in city police and fire are in the mid-to-high$60s.

Our power is not only in the voting booth, but also in being represented by a bargaining unit. This forum allows us to converse anonymously because the office is ruled with fear and intimidation. Just remember, a mile in cop's shoes is different that a mile in a private sector. Thanks for your support!

While you are thinking, ponder this. If you had the ability to pay your employees more (what they deserve) would you? If you knew that your employees were making far less than their counterparts doing the same job and you had the ability fix that, would you? If you had the ability to do these things and you didn't do them out of spite, would you expect your employees to sit quietly? You sound like an intelligent person. Try and understand that there is much more beneath the surface than what is smeared about this site. Also understand that not everyone who posts on this site speaks for the majority. We have morons who work amongst us, just as any other field. We are aware of this.

As the previous response said, we thank you for your support. Hopefully you will continue to support us in the upcoming election. We are simply striving for fairness through out the department.

P.S. As far as your research on our compensation goes. There are many of us who receive adequate (and some more than adequate) compensation for what they do. Pay close attention to job titles of those people. Those of us humping calls and puting our lives on the line are scrounging by (just as many in the private sector), some having to live on food stamps. If you call 911 for help, do you want the responding deputy to be so stressed about paying their bills that they cannot give your emergency their undivided attention? Just a thought.

Yes, sir. We had a choice. We chose to put our lives at risk for you and your apparently underpaid employees (I doubt that's public record!) with the expectation that we would be fairly compensated and that our pensions would be secure. Neither of those conditions are true now because of our sheriff and our governor. You chose to make money and forgo public service. Duty and honor are terms you don't seem to understand. Your laughably and obvious disingenuous lip service to the "honor" is a thin disguise you designed to make fools believe you care and it's insulting. You definitely missed the credibility boat there. Until you decide to strap on body armor and a gun and go out to the streets not knowing if you will ever see YOUR family or your underpaid employees again, shut the hell up about what you think about our compensation. By the way, I've been around as long as you have and I've seen the same people. Of those you mentioned, let us agree to disagree on a couple. I AM a cop, have been all my adult life and you, sir, don't carry the gear to comment one way or another on what we do, what we need, or what we get. If there's blog designed for those who hide behind the men and women with badges and guns, go post there sometime. You've no credibility on this site. Ant don't you ever forget that WE (not the courts or prisons) are the reason you still have a business (burst bubble notwithstanding) so continue hiding behind the security we provide and shut up.