It absolutely blows my mind how clueless the County Manager and Board of Commissioners are at this point. After reading the email from Director Heaton yesterday detailing the Commissioners plans to improve the department I am at a loss for words. You have a huge problem on your hands and you counter it by saying you are going to authorize 40 more police officers, 37 more patrol cars, and a pay and compensation study. Where do I begin?
40 more officers authorized? That means 40 more vacancies on top of the 60 plus we have now. We can't fill the open positions we have now due to the situation we are in and you want to add more vacancies? Great idea. 37 new patrol cars isn't a drop in the bucket. We have countless vehicles in the fleet with over 100,000 miles tasked with patrol duties. That equals a huge risk for not only the officer driving it but the motoring public as well. 37 new cars will not make a dent in the disrepair our fleet is in. A pay and compensation study again? How many studies do our county manager and commissioners need to look at before they realize they are wasting tax payers money to tell them the Police Department needs a considerable raise to stay competitive with other agencies? The writing is on the wall in every officer that leaves this department. They are all leaving for better pay, better benefits, take home cars etc. That all equals money in the pocket to which Cobb says we will continue to waste money training these officers to watch them leave for better pay. A pay study is a cheap stall tactic the county likes to use to kick the can down the road with no hope of change.
The county manager and board of commissioners claim they are supportive of public safety and it is a top priority in Cobb. This plan shows us that is exactly the opposite. Their priority is obviously to continue the status quo and keep the Department in a crisis. Why invest in your Police Department when you can spend the money at will in other ventures? That seems to be their thought process for the past several years.
Kudos to the Chief and Public Safety Director for telling the county manager and commissioners what is needed to keep this place afloat. Shame on the county manager and commissioners for turning a blind eye.
Again I can not express how important the February 25 commission meeting is. Be there to support public safety and let our county leaders know they are being held accountable for the welfare of Cobb public safety.
3 comments:
We need something NOW to stem the tide. Our flow of officers leaving is about to become a flood. How about looking to what Dekalb PD did in December, when they gave all their officers a 3% bonus if they would sign an agreement to stay for six months? That would be a tourniquet for the short term until the long term plans begin to get implemented. Only problem is, that would require the commissioners to SPEND MONEY.
So let's get this straight. The County has done nothing for years to address these issues, so they propose a pay study to figure out we need and deserve a drastic pay increase, cheaper benefits, many more vehicles etc when Ronnie Milsap himself could see this?! Really, a pay study??? I'm sure this one won't be manipulated either.
Hopefully the public will see what is going on starting this Tuesday night, or else I will have to resort to standing on the exit ramp from 285 to Cobb Parkway with a sign which says "Will Police For Food" and invite Ross Cavitt to do a live report.
I wanted to offer some of my thoughts on the new "plan".
1. The BOC approving 40 more positions is almost comical. That allows us to go from 70+ vacancies, to 110+ vacant slots. This solves none of the identified issues. In the long term, I think we'll need the additional manpower, but this is pointless at this time. Knowing the time frame to fill the vacant slots, the BOC is offering an item that will cost them nothing for at least 18-24months if we only hire new officers and lose no one else for the next 2 years.
2. The county routinely bought 30 +/- cars a year. For the past few years however they have gotten away from that. The fleet is now in shambles; with constant maintenance issues on high mileage cars and too few vehicles. Most of the cars being purchased are coming from last years budget, so again the BOC is minimizing their cost. This is a small step that barely addresses the condition of the fleet. It is money they have to spend and does not improve any of the identified retention issues.
3. The pay study is a waste of time and money. They haven't used the last pay study they did. We just got our first raise in years; the need is clear. The study they need to look into is why we have multi-million dollar surpluses, yet the county is in headed towards fiscal shambles by neglecting legitimate needs.
4. We have been told for almost a year that plates/helmets were coming. As usual the county keeps making promises of things we never see.
5. Officers buying their own rifles? While this county should be able to afford rifles for officers, I actually like the opportunity to buy my own rifle. Same as point 4 though...we've heard this for years w/ no follow through.
6. Studying assigned cars? See point 4 and 5 for why this will never happen. This is a noncommittal political answer to make it appear something is being done. Do they really think we're that dumb?
7. When I came to Cobb as a lateral, it was primarily due to its reputation. Money etc was important, but I would not have left my department for the Cobb we now have. The best recruiting tool we had was being the best most professional department w/ squared away officers. Tattoos, etc opens up our pool of candidates but to what avail? When I came 10 years ago, there was a line to get in the door; not us trying to figure out how to beg people to come.
Our current state reminds me of a Teddy Roosevelt quote- "The best thing you can do is the right thing. The next best thing you can do is the wrong thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing.". The county has been doing nothing for far too long.
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