The Cobb County Board of Commissioner's meeting will be held February 25th at 1900 hours. As we all know the January meeting was cancelled due to inclement weather. Speakers are scheduled to speak on behalf of the Department of Public Safety. We all need to rally together and show support for the Department and those who are fighting to make the needed changes to get Cobb Police back to where it needs to be. If you sit on the sidelines and do nothing then you can expect things to stay the same and continue to deteriorate. Bring your family and friends with you to show support. It is easy to get discouraged and throw in the towel, but I implore you to stay the course and continue to strive for a better department that we all know can exist and once did. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither was the situation that we find ourselves in at the moment. However with significant changes this department can get back on track to be one of the greatest departments in the country once again.
It has been brought to our attention that the Commissioner's are planning on recognizing members of our department for work done in deteriorated areas in the county. It has a hint of suspicion due to the fact the event was planned the day of the January meeting. Nonetheless we all know why we are at the meeting and should remain professional and refrain from taking the low road if in fact the event was planned to draw attention away from the real issues facing our department.
I learned Dunwoody Police is looking to hire 5 new officers in the very near future and 7 more by the start of summer. Word around town is they are actively recruiting Cobb PD officers for their training and experience. The same trend seems to continue. Other agencies such as Roswell PD are also looking for officers. One can only hope things change for the better soon around Cobb or it would stand to reason we will keep hemorrhaging well trained and experienced officers to other agencies for the same old reasons: better pay, take home cars, better benefits, etc.
We have become victims of our own success when it comes to the problem facing our department. We do more with less and remain professional in the face of manpower shortages, deteriorated equipment, poor morale, etc. Yet we continue to get the job done and keep the ship afloat. That is until a major event such as an officer involved shooting show how understaffed our department is and what deplorable conditions our equipment is in. Not enough cars to adequately respond to an officer in need is a serious issue. Pulling cars off an active manhunt for a potential cop killer to change out personnel is alarming to say the least. Officers stacked four to a car being shuttled back and forth without all the gear necessary to adequately do their job. That's not exactly what someone would expect to see from Cobb County.
It seems attacks on Police Officers are up in recent weeks. Remember to watch each others backs and go home at the end of the day. Your safety is paramount in the game we play. Keep your heads on a swivel and back each other up.
6 comments:
I agree with the above "blogger". We really have to rise to the occasion and the BOC meeting is just the time and place to do it. I know its easy to get discouraged but if we all pull together and show up at the BOC meeting, the commissioners with have to admit to the public in front of the news media they have a problem. LETS DO THIS !!
Everyone of us needs to be at that meeting! Without a union or any kind of collective bargaining this is the only way we will be heard. The County takes us for granted. We are a necessary evil and the County just brushes all of us aside.
Today's email shows that the county has little intention of taking this seriously. I can see a cascade effect coming where people really jump off the sinking ship. If you can't retain the people you have and can't attract high quality recruits then how does adding 40 positions you can't fill help?
County Managements True Colors 1
Wow! What a way to add insult to injury. Lets consider the proposal of the County Commissioners as stated by Director Heaton:
Items Approved:
Immediate (the numbers in parenthesis coincide with issues addressed)
1. The BOC will be asked to approve 40 additional police officer positions next week. This will help us to begin moving forward with a commitment toward 10-hour shifts. (1,2,4) **An additional 40 officers will need to be approved in the future to meet the staffing needs to meet the 10-hour shift transition. This will also allow us to begin re-staffing our specialty units.
This is nothing more than political sidestepping. There is no immediate cost to the county because the positions will not be filled. It is not possible with our current manpower deficit. This means nothing.
2. Thirty –seven patrol cars (Ford Interceptors) have been ordered and are scheduled to arrive in March. This order is to replace the order that was cancelled by the manufacturer last year. Another eight patrol cars has been approved for FY 14 along with twenty-two detective cars. We have support for adding additional cars to the police fleet as the 10-hour shifts take place in the Precincts. This will prevent officers from waiting on vehicles at the Precincts. This will also begin building a fleet for an assigned cars program if deemed appropriate. (1,2,5)
These were already approved in the budget, and frankly 37 cars will not replace enough of the old cars that have become increasingly dangerous for our officers to drive. The bottom line is that they were going to have to buy these anyway, but putting this out there makes it look like the commissioners are doing something for public safety. No additional cost to the county.
3. Pay and Compensation Study – A county-wide pay and class study will be performed this year which will include all positions and will compare all benefits including annul leave, sick leave, holidays, health dental, long term disability, retirement, tuition reimbursement, education, shift differential, assigned vehicles, etc. (1,2,3,4)
This one really gets me. “County wide pay study”, that is just what we needed. Public Safety does not need a “County wide pay study”. Public Safety needs a “Public Safety Pay Study”. We are not losing librarians and water department employees by the dozens. We are losing police officers. No more studies. Get it done! The end result of the last pay study is what we have now. Does that sound like a waste of money to you? Officers are leaving and this is the bottom line reason. This department will be terminal before a pay study can be completed. Cost the county $1 million plus.
County Managements True Colors 2
4. An RFP is out for Ballistic Plates, Ballistic helmets, and ballistic plate carriers.
Already approved and taking forever! While this is great equipment for our officers it does nothing for retention or recruiting. No help. Very little cost to the county.
5. Working to supply all officers a patrol rifle and allow a buying program to allow officers to buy the patrol rifles through payroll deductions. This does not cost the county anything if it is a buy back.
This is also taking forever and is great equipment but again does nothing for retention or recruiting. No help. Cost the county nothing.
6. Develop a plan/procedure for assigned cars to include cost analysis and an advantages/disadvantages list. The plan will include all issues including any additional fleet costs, liability of the county for officers going to and from home, pay and workers comp issue, etc., and this program will be presented and discussed with the County Manager for possible adoption.
This is good but just talk. There was the same kind of planning in the early 1990’s when the commissioners were considering the purchase of a helicopter for an air unit. It was just talk then too. This again costs the county nothing.
7.Evaluation of our current recruiting, hiring, and training practices as compared to other departments in the metro Atlanta area and make necessary changes. Some issues include tattoos, lateral entry training, recruit losses during training, etc. (4)
LOL (laugh out loud for those of you without teenage girls) You could stand at our recruiting table naked and still wouldn’t attract any attention. It’s not about problems with our recruiting, hiring or training practices. Why does this continue to fall on deaf ears? It’s about incentives like money, insurance benefits, retirement and work hours all of which were pointed out by the previous survey. Once again no cost to the county.
Let’s recap. The only thing on the list of approved items that cost the county any real money is the County Wide Pay Study. A pay study that, as we have seen in the past, the county management controls the outcome of. The county management is willing to pay what I am certain will be more that $1 million dollars for a study. What will this study do one might ask. First, it will buy time for the county management. The study will take the rest of this year and it could take as long as another year to implement, if ever. Secondly, it gives the public the false perception that the county management is taking proactive steps to address the pay issue of the police department. This study will do nothing to benefit the officers of the police department. As a veteran of many years with the police department it is very disheartening to see this lackadaisical approach by the county management to a very serious problem. This is a failure of epic proportions. The county management has once again shown its true colors.
I believe a very heroic gentleman once said “ Okay Let’s Roll”
It is time to take this misguided program back and get it back on the right track for the safety of the Citizens and Employees of Cobb County.
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