The news from last nights commission meeting has gotten out by now I am sure. I want to touch on a few key points.
First, it was great to see everyone at the meeting showing the support needed to make MAJOR changes to the Police Department. Without YOU nothing will change and the county manager and commissioners will continue to run this department into the ground. You have to continue to be vigilant in the efforts to force change. Thank you to all the speakers who reached out to county leaders on our behalf. Your efforts are greatly appreciated.
2nd, Tim Lee is a huge jack wagon. The way he belittles citizens with his snide remarks is very unprofessional. The citizens of Cobb should demand that man's job for just the way he talks down to people as if he is any better than the next guy or gal.
3rd, Nothing in this latest vote to add 40 additional police officers will change anything at the department. 40 additional funded positions will only add to the vacancies we cannot fill now. I hate to sound like a broken record here but the fact remains, pay SUCKS, benefits SUCK, and we continue to fall behind the curve with equipment. Without addressing those issues there will be no real change and things will only continue to deteriorate within the Police Department. Acting like 40 more police positions is the answer to the problem for the news media is a diversion tactic to draw attention away from the real issues. The commissioners did absolutely NOTHING last night to help morale in the department.
4th, I want to take this time to address a rumor I heard recently. Word is there are talks of a blue flu on the horizon among a large part of the department. This is NOT a good idea. It is not for many reasons. Mainly because we are all professionals at the department and that is a very UNPROFESSIONAL move. If that were to happen we would be no better than a certain commission chair belittling a citizen wishing to speak or bashing a boy scout troop who wished to thank his mom for her support (good one Mr. Lee). We must continue to remain the professionals that we are and continue to spread the word on the crisis we face. Public support continues to grow and a blue flu would only do harm to our efforts.
5th, this was only the opening round in what will continue to be a fight for a better working environment at the Cobb Police Department. Again we must continue the efforts for a better department.
I would like to hear from you all on the issues. Please feel free to comment and for those Rusty Shackleford types such as myself your comments are anonymous. That in mind keep it clean and above the belt. Be safe out there.
14 comments:
Can someone explain why the Chief told Tim Lee that the 40 positions would help morale. It's not making me feel any better about things. Please help me understand.
Are the 40 approved Tues night over and above the normal yearly ones ? So how many will be hired in 2014 ?
Well, unfortunately it appears that they genuinely do not care. You risk everything doing something you love and the only people who care are those to your left and right. Going upstairs to type my resignation letter...
Check out the new lateral entry pay explanation under the recruiting section of the department website. If someone were eligible for 10% over the base pay, they would be making more than me at five years. It even says there would be no "pay inequity." This is insane.
Very frustrating. A lot I would like to say but it's not going to do any good. The PD management is at least partially to blame for some of this. The Chief is a good guy but he is also listening to people he shouldn't be listening to who are advising him. He is also being stubborn - now is not the time for that. He needs to get out more and interact with the officers in the field (he has a reputation of being aloof and standoffish with the rank and file) - it might help some and it won't cost a thing !!
Hey Mr. Hankerson and Commissioner Lee. Here's a department of equal size who cares for their officers.
Start: $41,978 (after graduation from the Academy)
Top Officer: $67,275
ADDITIONAL PAY AND BONUSES
SHIFT DIFFERENTIAL PAY
Day Shift: $137 per month
Evening Shift: $165 per month
Midnight Shift: $197 per month
EDUCATION INCENTIVES
2 years college: $360
4 year college degree: $960
Salary Incentive Courses: up to $130 per month
LONGEVITY/BONUS PAY Based on years of service, paid annually in October
Less than 5 years: $0
5 to less than 10 years: $625
10 to less than 15 years: $1,100
15 to less than 20 years: $1,600
20 to less than 22 years: $2,000
22 years or more: $2,300
COLLEGE TUITION PAYMENT PLAN Members attending college may be reimbursed the full cost of tuition, up to $1,800 annually.
OVERTIME PAY Members working overtime will be compensated at time and one half rate; may elect to take that in pay or compensatory time.
HOLIDAY PAY Members working approved holidays may elect to take double pay or choose to take another day off.
PAY PLAN EXAMPLES (10/2010):
1st YEAR Base Salary(10/2010): $41,978
Differential Pay (Mids) $2,364
Shoe Allowance $165
Minimum $44,507
4 year Degree $960
Maximum $45,467
10 YEAR Base Salary(10/2010): $67,275
Differential Pay (Mids) $2,364
Shoe Allowance $165
Longevity $1,100
Minimum $70,904
Education Incentives $1,560
Maximum $72,464
NOTE: These figures do not include overtime pay.
BENEFITS
Health Insurance Members may choose to elect healthcare from the current healthcare provider.
Life Insurance Florida law provides $20,000 line-of-duty death and $50,000 unlawful death insurance.
Retirement Members may retire with 20 years of service and collect seventy percent of their average salary from the last three years, or eighty percent after 25 years of service.
A Back-Drop has been added and will be optional at the member’s discretion. The Drop program accumulates up to three years of retirement salary while the member still receives their regular pay. After first attaining at least 21 years of service, you may Back-Drop up to a maximum of 3 years or any monthly portion thereof.
Vested rights after 10 years of service at three percent per year of service. There is no age requirement.
Pension Plan Bargaining unit members will contribute to the pension plan each pay period. A Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) will be reserved as approved by the Florida State Legislature, effective July 1, 1995. COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENT (COLA) IS AVAILABLE AT AGE 55.
* *For additional information on the pension plan, please click here **
Equipment During an officer's career, he/she is fully provided with uniforms, weapons and other necessary equipment, including shoes.
VACATION AND HOLIDAYS
Holidays
New Years Day
Independence Day
Labor Day
Thanksgiving Day
Day After Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Eve Day
Christmas Day
Dr. Martin Luther King's Birthday
Floating Holiday (3)
Memorial Day
Vacation/Personal Leave
0-2 years: 151.5 hrs per year
2-7 years: 191.5 hrs per year
7-16 years: 231.5 hrs per year
16-20 years: 271.5 hrs per year
Over 20 years: 278.2 hrs per year
Military Benefits
Paid Military Leave For members serving their annual Military Reserve or National Guard obligation.
Sad. Very sad. I like the "jack wagon" reference, which is a clean way of saying what we are all thinking. Sad thing is, he has always been that way. I saw it early on when he was just a district commissioner and have never liked him. Lee could care less about the employees. He places too much trust in Hankerson and too much emphasis on what Hankerson tells him. Easier to give Hankerson another contract than to go out and do the work to bring in someone new who might see things in a new fresh perspective. I couldn't believe the citizens reelected Lee.
That is an outstanding example of the direction the Cobb County Police Department needs to headed for. It's definitely north of the poverty line Cobb Officers are at now. Awesome research Anonymous...
For all those who were wondering: the "laser lawnmower" was a real agenda item on Tuesday night, and it was approved, 5-0, at a total cost of $140,000. The proposal is on pages 142-143 of the meeting agenda. The action can be seen under Tab 13 of the video coverage of the meeting on the TV23 site. A little more detail: this contract is not even to PURCHASE a "laser lawnmower"; it's to pay a vendor to resurface the athletic fields at Al Bishop and Tramore Parks. The vendor, TurfPlaner of Georgia, is an approved sole source vendor for the county.
Prior to the vote, Commissioner Goreham made a point of going on record with a comment: Despite the public comment earlier, the county would actually be SAVING THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS by using this service (presumably it is cheaper to have your ball fields resurfaced with a LASER GUIDED DEVICE than to do it any other way). Taking this a little further, you could say that the commissioners just voted to approve something that SOUNDS MORE EXPENSIVE but actually saves money. Unlike the moronic concepts we've seen in the past like not buying the cheaper police cars (Chargers and Tahoes) because they LOOK MORE EXPENSIVE, but instead buying the more expensive cars that look cheaper, so the public will assume that their leaders are being fiscally responsible. This can also be applied to take-home cars. Despite the proven cost savings over the long run, this concept has been rejected for years. The only conclusion I can reach is that the inmates are running the asylum.
For those wondering, this department is Orlando, FL PD.
Truth be told the Chief (Houser) not Prince (since they appear to be interchangeable) is becoming a sell out and is delusional if he believes simply adding 40 positions is going to boost morale by any amount. Currently adding 40 "ghost" positions is a step in the wrong direction if you ask me because your not doing anything to keep Veteran officers and certainly nothing to keep the young ones from getting better paying better benefit jobs elsewhere. That needs to be the focus not adding 40 "ghost" positions. I want to give Deputy Chief Cox a shout for actually going out in the field and responding to calls for service with line officers...that is a leader. Someone that stands in front of a group of officers and only looks to the back of the room for Prince's signal to leave is not. Just saying....We need to stand together and take this department back to being #1 where it was 15-20 years ago.
Sorry to say this, but, it is what it is. No one expected significant changes to happen overnight but when your Chief publicly says that he thinks adding 40 positions they can't fill is good for morale, that's a problem. When the Commission Chairman states to WSB the next day that he has a plan but its going to take at least a year to implement, that's not good either. Sounds to me like he isn't concerned at all and is just stalling for time. I'm sureaybe some of the office like seeing Cox in the field, even though that is not the job of a DC in a department this size. Its funny that Houser used to criticize Storey for that, saying he spent too much time out in the field and not enough time at HQ.
the 40 approved at the February 25 meeting are on top of the 609 or so positions the Police Department is authorized at this time. The problem with that is there are only 517 or less positions filled at this time because people are leaving in droves for better pay, benefits, take home car, etc. So essentially what the commissioners have done is authorize more vacancies that will go unfilled due to poor morale from the issues stated earlier. The commissioners made it appear they were helping when in actuality they were compounding the problem.
The bottom line is that Lee, Ott, Birell and Hankerson all need to go. They are dragging this department and county down in flames for their own gain. It boggles my mind that Willie got another three-year contract. We were so close to getting rid of him this last time. Keep this in the media. It it truly the only way to sway a politician.
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