Contracts?? No Money in Hialeah?

This contract reminds me of a used car salesman saying "Trust me,this beauty runs perfect".
Is it just me or does this smell like a put-up job.
We are being rushed into this without all of the facts at our disposal.
We can not vote YES or NO,until we have all of the city's financial information.
We should not vote at all until then.
Miami-Dade and Miami have a much bigger deficit then we do and they are not screwing them like us.
The city has plenty of fat that they can trim before they royally screw us for the next 18 months.

vote no on voluntarily reducing our income 25% next wed, can the general membership witness the ballot counting? "Trust but Verify" ops: :cop:

I say vote NO. The Mayor and Council will do what they want regardless whether it be now or in 18 months. If we vote no nothing will be imposed on us for a few weeks or months (remember they still have to deal with the other 2 unions too). In the meantime you will still be getting your full checks and cashing in Holidays.

Oh, and on a side note what the faugazzie has the PBA done for us? Wasnt yesterday's meeting going to have a PBA attorney? They kept saying its a hard pill to swallow. I agree, especially when the 'negotaions' involved a RUSH meeting with the mayor involving a few reps (COPS who have no REAL experience in negotiations) and NO damn PBA attorneys. This crap contract is the result. These reps, although well intentioned, went to 501 Palm and OFFERED EVERYTHING! There was no back and forth, no offer by the mayor. Had a PBA Attorney been there I'm sure he/she would have slapped them silly. This was no negotiation folks.

I would rather Vote no and deal with the consequences down the road. One thing is for sure, there will be no LAYOFFS for officers. Gloves are off now and I propose the following:

Phase 1 - We should Join forces with the other 2 Unions and contribute to the circus. We may not get sympathy from our citizens but I want to see the MEDIA all over this. The Mayor sure had no problem bragging about how well our Police Department did in reducing crime (#1 in the State). Let's make sure we let the world know this is our reward for that. :roll:

Phase 2 includes TICKETING the hell out of the citizens, legally of course. When they ask why or give their typical remarks about getting paid extra we just smile. Mayor will get bombarded with calls.

Phase 3 - No more revenue for city via the sweat on our backs. I will personally dismiss every ticket that goes up so the city doesnt get a friggin dime. All i care about is trying to make up the 6 hours needed in order for OT to kick in.

The thing that pisses me off the most is that this could all be avoided by raising taxes about $25.00 -$30.00 per household. This is unreasonable for our elected officials to do, yet we as officers will be giving up THOUSANDS out of our pockets?! If this crap contract goes through the get ready for more of the same next year. Since the Mayor doesnt want to raise taxes HOW can this city get out of the red?

I here a lot of people saying that we should accept this contract out of fear.
We voted down a contract that was slightly better than this monstrosity that they are trying to force on us.
If you are going to steal from me and my family,I am not going to give you my permission to do it.
501 fu@ked up but we have to pay for the incompetence and mismanagement of funds to protect the political reputation of a politician so that in a future election they can win.
I don't think so.
I FOR ONE WILL VOTE "NO"!

Please see below what bolanos wrote. The guy made sense. Please dont vote yes just because your afraid that they will impose a worse contract. Excercise your right and vote no to this injustice.

Rolando D Bolanos Hialeah police rank and file, your Command Staff and your PBA Reps are telling you to vote YES for the proposed contract OR the City Council will impose a WORSE contract on you. Folks, THAT IS NOT TRUE. They are threatening and intimidating you with a LIE. You CAN vote DOWN this contract and keep the "Prevailing" contr...act you have right now AND send your Reps back to continue negotiations until you have a contract, :evil:

This contract reminds me of a used car salesman saying "Trust me,this beauty runs perfect".
Is it just me or does this smell like a put-up job.
We are being rushed into this without all of the facts at our disposal.
We can not vote YES or NO,until we have all of the city's financial information.
We should not vote at all until then.
Miami-Dade and Miami have a much bigger deficit then we do and they are not screwing them like us.
The city has plenty of fat that they can trim before they royally screw us for the next 18 months.

vote no on voluntarily reducing our income 25% next wed, can the general membership witness the ballot counting? "Trust but Verify" ops: :cop:

Boss Hog said crime in Hialeah is minimum and the city is in the black recently, why wait a year to call him out.
I say we go to war now, together with the other unions, not next year when the mayor says sorry we don't have the money to honor your contract this year because of forclosures and no tax revenues. I'll bet my firstborn nothing sunshines next year except boss hogs teeth when he smiles at the sheep that work for him. I might take it in the pooper, but im not volunteering for it.

VOTE NO ON JUNE 2 :cop:

Vote NO!!! :cop: :cop: :cop: :cop:

Please vote no. Have our PBS reps go back and negotiate that's what they are there for

You have to be an IDIOT to give the city permission to steal your livelihood from you.



VOTE NO!!!

As a veteran of our department for over 2 decades, I cannot believe what I am seeing and hearing. I have never been so disappointed in some of our co-workers and command staff who are spreading misinformation and, sometimes, even out and out lies regarding the proposed contract and the negotiation process. Each of us must decide what we think is best for us and our individual families. We deserve to base our decision on accurate information. We cannot allow scare tactics to affect our decision. We deserve to be treated with dignity and have our opinions respected.
Below you will find a list of the most common questions I have heard you asking and accurate answers to each. I hope this will help make your decision easier.
Question #1: What will this agreement cost me? How much money will be taken out of my pocket?
Answer: We have all run our numbers and have a good idea of what this contract will cost each of us. I know the proposed contract will cost me over $15,000. If you are uncertain of the cost to you due to issues such as overtime, specialty pay, and other factors that can vary, a good rule of thumb is to estimate that you will be giving up approximately 15% of your pay.
Question #2: If this agreement is voted down, will we have a contract imposed upon us by the City Council.
Answer: If this contract is voted down, the terms of the current (“expired”) contract will remain in effect and the city and our PBA representatives will resume negotiations. The City Council CANNOT impose a contract if the proposed contract is voted down. Florida law indicates that the City Council can only impose a contract after an impasse has been declared and after a recommendation is issued by a special master. We (the PBA) and the city are not at impasse. There is no time limit for the negotiations and the city must abide by the terms of the current contract until an agreement is reached and ratified or until the city and the union declare impasse. An example of this is the current situation with the firefighters. The firefighters rejected the city’s proposal and are currently negotiating with the city. They are not at impasse, and the City Council cannot impose a contract.
Question #3: If this contract is ratified, does it guarantee that there will be no layoffs in our department.
Answer: The proposed contract does not include a no layoff clause. Under the proposed contract the city can still lay off as many police officers as it sees fit with no restrictions.
Question #4: What will this agreement cost Mayor Robaina? Has he made any concessions?
Answer: Mayor Robaina has not made any concessions in his salary or expense account. He will continue to receive his $155,250 annual salary, his $75,019 annual expense account, and his $41,616 annual travel and per diem allowance.


Question #5: What will this agreement cost Chief Overton? Has he made any concessions?
Answer: I prayed on this over several days. After overcoming his reluctance to get involved in union matters, our Lord and savior Jesus Christ advised me that Chief Overton has not made any concessions in his salary or benefits. He will continue to receive his $134,976 annual salary and enjoy the same benefits package he enjoys today.
Question #6: I am concerned that the command staff, Majors and Commanders, have been exerting a tremendous amount of pressure on us to approve this contract. How will this contract affect the command staff? Have the Majors and/or Commanders made any concessions?
Answer: Command staff will not be affected by this contract. The Majors (average salary $103,739) and the Commanders (average salary $93,765) will continue to receive the same annual salary as they do today and enjoy the same benefits package as today.
Question #7: What will this agreement cost the City Council? Has the City Council made any concessions?
Answer: The City Council has not made any concessions in their salaries or expense accounts. Each City Council member will continue to receive their same annual salary and their $41,686 annual expense account. They will continue to meet only two times per month while still taking the month of July off.
Question 8: Did the Robaina administration really inherit a $41 million dollar reserve when it came into office?
Answer: Documents distributed by the administration itself during the ongoing negotiations showed a $41 million reserve. The City Attorney and others have clearly stated that those reserves are gone and the city today has no reserves?
Question #9: Mayor Robaina says the city will lose $9 million dollars in property tax revenue next year due to falling property values. Is that true?
Answer: No. Without raising taxes, the city can adjust the millage rate to ensure that it collects the same amount of money in property taxes that it did this year. Average increase to the taxpayer = $0.00.






Question #10: Mayor Robaina has stated that the money the city receives from property taxes has been declining for the past five years and that is why the city is having financial difficulties. Is that true?
Answer: Nothing could be further from the truth. The city’s audited financial statements show that the city’s income from property taxes grew an unprecedented 40.5% from 2005 to 2008. The city did not experience a significant decline in income from property taxes until 2010. The chart below demonstrates that the city received an aggregate $54.4 million in additional income from property taxes from 2005 to 2009 when using 2005 as the baseline.

Year Amount $$$ Increase from 2005
2005 $48,983,038 N/A
2006 $54,289,694 $5,306,656
2007 $61,549,502 $12,566,464
2008 $68,833,515 $19,850,477
2009 $65,666,056 $16,683,018

Total Increase $54,406,615

Question #11: This administration had $41 million in reserves and $54.4 million in new income from property taxes; that’s over $95 million dollars! What happened to the $95 million?
Answer: That’s a question that many of us feel must be answered before we (the employees) make any concessions to this administration. If the city had been managed responsibly, the city should have a very healthy reserve of close to $65 million dollars which would have been more than enough to carry the city through any tough times it may face during the next 2 or 3 years without requiring a 15% salary reduction from us.
Question #12: If all that money is unaccounted for how can we be certain we won’t find ourselves in the same position again next year even if we do approve this contract?
Answer: For this very reason many of us feel that a thorough audit must be completed to determine the true financial condition of the city and that safeguards are implemented to ensure that the situation does not repeat itself prior to us making any concessions to the city.

Question #13: I have been told by command staff that our contract is expired and that we do not have a contract. Is that true?
Answer: This is not true. The terms of the current contract remain in effect. The city and PBA are required to honor the terms of the current contract. An example is that the city was required because of the current contract to meet its obligation to pay for merit and longevity increases, uniforms, and overtime.
Question #14: I don’t like the terms of the proposed contract, is this the best deal we could get?
Answer: The proposed contract is highly unfavorable to us and I feel strongly that we can be and should be treated better than this. Our current contract is far more favorable to us. If the proposed deal is rejected, we will continue to work under and receive all the benefits contained in the current contract and our PBA reps and the city will begin new negotiations on a new contract. The City Council cannot impose a contract on us simply because the proposed contract is rejected. At this time, our best deal is to vote NO on the proposed contract and keep our current contract in effect.
Question #15: Mayor Robaina has stated that he has reduced the workforce by over 400 employees and has done all he can to control costs, is this true?
Answer: On the contrary, this administration has created huge increases in the city’s expenses. Despite receiving record amounts of income from property taxes, the administration failed to save for a rainy day. Now that the rainy day is here, they are asking us, and us alone, to bear the cost of its spending spree. Like many of its other claims, the claim that the administration has reduced the workforce is false. The administration has not reduced the size of the city’s workforce. The chart below indicates the number of active city employees as reflected in each annual budget.
Actual Number of Employees As Reflected in City Budget

2006 - 2007 Budget 1,833
2007 - 2008 Budget 1,942
2008 - 2009 Budget 1,901
2009 - 2010 Budget 1,921

These numbers do not include the increase of over 200 employees instituted by Mayor Robaina in late 2005 and early 2006 immediately following his election.

I hope you have found this information useful and I urge you to carefully consider your options, as I will, and do what is best for you and your family.