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80 comments:
In the latest informational video from the ivory tower, I heard a lot about no money for raises this year, BUT there will soon be an employee satisfaction survey. One thing that would increase my satisfaction level would be a raise. GSP got a big one last year, now APD is improving their officer satisfaction level in a big way. How about it Cobb?
Good news, a bunch of us did get a raise a few months ago.... 5% specialty pay which applies to 227 positions (investigators and other specialized positions). For PO2's it was $1.25/hr.
We did get big raises a year back !! you just needed to be a Sgt or above to be a recipient of it as the rank and file didn't see squat !!
That's great news! except all of them were already getting it with the exception of Det's! and some even lost money with the creation of the new policy !
That is true, I was topped out as a PO2 under the old pay scale (stick around for 25 years and you might reach top-out too). I was getting a quarterly lump sum to make up for not getting the annual merit increase. When the new pay scale went into effect last year, PO2 top-out went up a couple of bucks. Guess what, I'm not topped out any more so no more quarterly lump sum. AND no merit increase to make up for it. End result for me and others was a net pay cut of around $2000. By the way this isn't just a PD issue, some civilian employees are in the same boat, anyone who was topped out in their position and isn't anymore. Management knows about it but doesn't seem to care, those who it affects are long time Rule of 80 employees within a few years of retirement SO there's no danger of anyone headed out the door over this issue.
I didn't realize we have such a big problem with losing reserve officers. They just got a HUGE raise. I guess all this talk about manpower shortages at the precinct was fabricated. I'm so glad that they got a HUGE raise while those that are actually answer calls and risking their lives don't get squat. Guess some of them can cut back on all their other part times and let the road officers work some. Priorities are really backwards at this department. Maybe the next Chief will change things for the beat cops. SMDH
Guys we can’t even get vest carriers......VEST CARRIERS.
Manpower is garbage throughout the county. Work bets on how long it takes before we go to 12 hr shifts? What an epic and entirely foreseeable death spiral!
Not to far behind you in service years, but I'm afraid those topping out in pay is going to be a thing of the past. Doubt anyone as a beat officer will see that anymore, not the way things are currently going !
Just renewed my FOP and national legal defense plan for another year. Less than $150 to cover my back side. Yes you would hope the county would have your six... not leaving my family's financial well being to chance based on that hope.
I enjoyed the days working here when folks came on vacation and left on probation. Not now, when they jack your car and we serve a cup of coffee to go.
I remember the days when the command staff wore uniforms and looked like cops.
Good point, seems like perks and salaries have increased for everyone but the backbone of the department.
The only law enforcement with any balls now is the S.O. they can actually chase and apprehend a criminal. They have a real leader unlike other POWERLESS PUPPETS....Thank you S.O. for doing real work while we go and gave paint parties, dance offs, and fairytale story time.
I hope that Jack Forsythe becomes the new Public Safety Director again. We need someone that will fight for the PD.
ATTENTION!!! The Cobb County Police are in crisis mode. We don’t have enough to fill the beats every night, more officers are leaving than ever before (maybe because the new retirement plan sucks), and the moral is at an all time low. Pretty soon there will be more command staff than some precinct shifts. I guess the Captains and Majors can answer Sig 3’s. Wake up commissioners, wake up citizens, this is a crisis!!!! We have been saying this for the last ten years, and nothing changes so the officers are still getting the hell of out the CCPD!
It's very apparent that the command staff has not read the book that we have to read for the supervisor test.
GTAC ! eat cake...
Board of Commissioners, check this link out in reference to Brookhaven’s salary plan. Go ahead and say goodbye to plenty more officers. Get your heads out of you ass and do something!
http://brookhavencityga.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1794&Inline=True
And in case anyone in the head shed tries to argue it's just a proposal, there was an article in the AJC reporting that it was voted on and will take effect in April. Daddy Rabbit and the goons on his board need to wake up and realize that we are in a death spiral. Parity needs to be broken and their limp wristed talk needs to be followed with action. Daddy Rabbit claims to be a marine but is about as soft as a wet piece of white bread. He needs to keep his campaign promise and put public safety first, especially when he just demanded a new detail from a decimated police department to protect him and his goons from the public he fails to serve.
Sincerely,
Internet Troll
Wonder what the tax payers would think if they knew that $1200 a day ($6000 a week, $312,000 a year) was being spent to protect 1 building.....oh wait I am a tax payer and am furious.
The reserve officers just received a $5.00 an hr raise to still do nothing but shuttle cars and work part times. Yet we are using 4 motor officers a day to guard 100 Cherokee Street because the Chairman is scared. Give him a pink hat and send him packing. Our reserve program is a fraud.
Good month of posts, still pretty quiet considering mandatory overtime for superbowl and now cutting into our time for another mandatory meeting!
Wonder if MJR is going to unveil his master plan on how to retain quality officers, and compete with surrounding agencies?
It will be a 2hr power point of the past 2 yrs and nothing new. It's a chance for him to brag and build his resume for the Director position.
It's not the chief's fault we're not getting paid. At the end of the day it's on the commissioners to pay us more. Chief register doesnt choose what we get paid. The sooner yall quit attacking him and start going after the commissioners, the sooner we can make progress. That also doesnt mean I agree with every decision he's made. I think the community affairs unit should have a few less people than it does. I'm just saying you people are directing your anger in the wrong direction.
10 Community Affairs Officers and we can't fill beats. I think 5 of them should go back to the road. How many officers does it take to serve coffee, donuts,and paint. Maybe the reserve unit can help fill in for them.
I don't think anyone's attacking him, a few valid posts and I hope at this point everyone's pretty clear on what the BOC does and that the chief is our voice. Things appear very stagnant around here and folks are tired of seeing every metro agency being a priority other than Cobb.
I have it from a ranking member of command staff that despite what MJR said, the chiefs office continues to monitor this blog and is PISSED it has kicked back up. Keep up the good work! Maybe they will actually do something for us now... Oh wait, please excuse me, my GTAC was showing for a sec there.
Soooo....I can retire and come back and actually get a raise and only have to shuttle cars around.
Don't forget to complete the employee satisfaction survey. They already know what your complaints are, but need to pretend doing this will encourage a change. Hope is the county's great plan for retention.
It's crazy that we're promoting folks but we don't have anyone to fill their spots. More empty beats, funny that supervision lately ain't running beats (days off) short but it's okay for the actual worker bees to run short. Even more crazy when your in squad and supervisors r close to equaling people! my bad GTAC
Saw a bunch of STEP and motor guys at 100 Cherokee St today as I was passing by. They were there getting trained on how to operate the metal detector, hand wand and x-ray machine. If you are saying to yourself "Self, that looks and sounds a lot like the SO's job" it's because it is. I talked to an SO buddy who said that the COBB PD OFFICERS on this detail will be operating on SO radio channels, calling for SO as backup and reporting to SO supervision if they have issues on the detail and will be making cases for SO investigators. My SO contact then laughed and asked how they managed to pull this one over on the PD. But hey, good things really are coming! From the looks of it brown shirts and star badges for PD Officers as they do more and more of the Sheriff's Department's job.
Sincerely,
Internet Troll
It's beginning to look a lot like Fulton County around here. Every which way you look. From the run down of the gov't, to the lack of services across the county. No wonder East Cobb is interested in separating and controlling their destiny. While South Cobb watches how it develops and they push for it next.
Never thought I'd see the day when we're only competitive with Austell and Clayton PD for pay and benefits.
Come on boc, look at APD's 10 year and Gwinnett's 12 year salary step plan.
We just had someone leave for Powder Springs PD.
Never happen, if the boc does anything it will be a 20-30 year step plan so it takes you your entire career and they dont have to pay you as much. So for now the real top out is the market control point.
Hey boc, 13 leo's have been killed this year, 150 last year, and 808 in the last five years.
Can't find any stats on how many liberians were killed this year, but I'm pretty sure it's less than 13 since the first library opened it's doors.
Alot more responsibility and risk for police officers than librarians and the salary should reflect that.
So another mandatory Chief's meeting in the books. Pay is terrible..."It's up to the commissioners". At least one if not two open beats EVERY day. "It's a recruitment problem". "All SUV's will go to FTO's and Supervisors first". Well...unless your a slovenly overweight POS and claim "I can't fit in a Taurus". Your incentive is to lose some weight Porky. Precinct II mini station....are you kidding me??? It's more of the same (GTAC) and this county will continue its death spiral. If you are in the Precinct, you will be there indefinitely. No chance of getting out....just stay there and get burnt out even more. But lets form a worthless Entering Auto Task Force that WORKS DURING THE DAY and lets put 10 people in the Community Affairs Unit to drink coffee and paint with the homeless. Now Special Ops is manning 100 Cherokee Street. Makes sense to me due to the fact that the SO is sooooooo busy not picking up shoplifters, not getting 10-99's from the hospital and making sure book in takes over 2 hours. The exodus will continue and that is a fact. CIU, CAP, CAC and Special OPs. Make sure your uniforms are pressed....you'll be needed to fill the 4 open beats that are on the horizon.
The load bearing vests are "too tactical". Makes sense. When an officer shows up with his dorky hubcaps and antiquated uniform, he's just a glorified report taker.
Here's an idea...lets put officer health and wellness first and go to a load bearing vest like Marietta. It's not "too tactical". It's smart. Buts that's why we don't do it. We don't lead and others sure don't follow.
Don't we already have a mini precinct in zone 2? It's next to the fire dept on Factory Shoals. I think the Chief's favorite unit (CAU) works out of it. Why not take one of the 10 officers they have and man it and put a secretary there and take the money they were going to put into the new mini precinct and buy some more cars. Good grief we waste so much money on things we don't need.
Hey MJR, I'm proud to be a keyboard Rambo!
It is very easy to hide behind "anonymous" and complain and call officers names and express your dislike for things in the county. I am quite familiar with open beats, the entering auto task force, and the Community Affairs Unit. I stay in shape and drive a 2006 vehicle with 170,000 miles. I know the work that the entering auto tasks force does both during the day and at night when they are requested. I also know how many arrests they have made and the cases they continue to build. I also know the good efforts the Community Affairs Unit has completed that allows officers from both specialty units and precincts to stay in service. Instead of hiding on Ducimus, how about you respectfully voice your concerns face to face at the last scheduled meeting to be held tomorrow? I would love to hear your ideas and would hope that you would consider how to be a part of the solution. I am not afraid to post my name.
Barry Little
Hey Major. You’re right, it is easy to hide behind anonymous. It’s easy for you to post your name on here but you don’t live in fear of the repercussions of speaking out against the chain of command. While I hold you in High regards and view you as one of the true leaders of this county, there’s other majors that aren’t held that way.
You have a major driving around telling people he has been here 30 some years and could retire at anytime but chooses to stay to ruin people’s careers. This one has touched my career personally. I made the mistake speaking out about it and now it affects my career every year.
So we have to post anonymously. I’m not in fear of anyone walking this earth, but I do fear those above me, who I wouldn’t trust in a squirt gun fight, because they have affected my career.
No one will speak out, ask serious questions, or add their name to this blog along as the Major at headquarters is still here and attending the meetings. I have personally heard him say that he still has peoples careers to screw over before he leaves. He has said that if he makes Deputy Chief people better watch out. I would hope this Chief understands how detrimental he is to morale at this department and do something about it. Until that day happens,this is the only place we have to vent without retaliation from him. I have the highest respect for the other command staff personnel.
Interesting that anonymous complaints against officers are investigated to the fullest, yet anonymous concerns voiced by officers are met with intimidation and insults.
I've been here long enough to know that the big ticket fixes needed around here are way above the level of anyone in this department. I also know that the mountain of little fixes that are within the grasp of the command staff will never be addressed due to a lack of real leadership, and an unwillingness to adapt. Examples are all over this blog, and to date have not been addressed. But all we hear is GTAC while surrounding agencies leave Cobb in the dust across the board.
I applaud you for commenting Major, but you seem to have missed the point. If you can filter out the sarcasm and trivial whining, there are a lot of valid concerns on this blog. And the fact that they continue to be ignored is why good officers continue to flee Cobb, and why morale is in the tank.
Well said. I hope the minds behind the employee satisfaction survey are tuning in to this station. I know the Chief’s office is.
That comment is spot on my friend. I hold Major Little in high regards. I just wish he could understand what you’re saying.
Chief,
Thanks for meeting with the troops and discussing the State of the Department. The outlook is pretty bleak. Morale is low and doesn’t show any signs of improvement any time soon. What I saw was identification of some of the issues. What I didn’t see was a plan to fix them. We all know that “hope” is not a plan for success, but a plan for failure. Hoping that the County Commission is going to help fix this issue any time soon is that plan for failure.
Listed below are a few things that I hear about from other officers and consider important myself. Easy fixes in my opinion and all that are within your purview.
Accelerate the SBR Deployment:
According to reports from Range Staff there has been a 100% buyback for the SBRs issued to date. Why not accelerate the program or at least for those that intend to buy their SBRs. The net cost to the department is $0. We were afforded the opportunity to buy our last issued patrol rifle as well, which many of us did. This saved the department money and allowed for the purchase of additional patrol rifles. Now, imagine my, and other officer’s dismay at being told we are pushed to the bottom of the list because we own our patrol rifles? So, let me get this right, we are being punished for helping the department save money when they needed our help?
Load Bearing Vest:
I know you hate the sight of these and think that they are “too militaristic”, but facts are that they are better for the health of the officer. Additionally, jurisdictions around us have them and no one is protesting in the streets about it. How about making it an option? The officer buys it at their own expense, thus no expense to the department. Multiple studies have shown how moving items off of a heavy duty belt and on to a loadbearing vest are reducing pain and injuries. A pain free/injury free officer is a happy officer. Happy officers generate fewer complaints from the public. Don’t worry about the appearance, peer pressure and time will fix any issues associated with the vests.
Here’s a recent study from Police One:
https://www.policeone.com/Officer-Safety/articles/482040006-Load-bearing-vest-vs-duty-belt-Ergonomic-researchers-determine-the-winner/
Red Dot Sights for Pistols:
Here’s another innovative idea. Red dot sights on pistols has become mainstream and are even in use with the military and numerous police departments. Not everyone wants one, but those us that do are probably, once again, willing to pay our own way. How about authorizing the private purchase of any of the Glock 9mm MOS weapons and personal purchase of a reliable Red Dot Sight, as well as the appropriate holster. Glock, Safariland, Trijicon, Aimpoint and Leupold have all invested great sums in research and development to make this a reliable option. Again, the cost to the department is $0. The potential savings in the event of increased accuracy by an officer might not even be measurable.
I am willing to invest in my own happiness and I am willing to bet that other officers are too. I can’t and won’t speak for everyone, but these three items would help my morale. I’m willing to bet it would help others as well. Again, the net cost to the department is $0. Another benefit, remember I said a happy and pain free officer generates fewer complaints, might be reduced complaints going to Internal Affairs, the net result would allow them to focus more on recruiting and retention.
Chief, these are or at least should be, things that you can immediately change. I implore you to do so as soon as possible. Your, rather our department, needs a shot of good faith and a quick boost in morale. Again, the net cost is $0. What are you waiting for?
Amen, 100% agree with everything here, as do all officers I know. Let's add to the uniform discussion cargo pants and comfortable athletic style shoes/boots to go with the vest. Which needs to be user configurable by the way, because everyone is different. And we can still let guys wear the class A if they want, everyone wins.
Also facial hair. I don't even want a beard, but if my beat partner does then what's the harm in making him happier?
And tattoos. Again, I have none and want none but a guy with full sleeves should not be turned away or have to cover up if he is the best guy for the job.
Window tint. It has previously been stated to be a safety issue... Really? Is it a safety issue for every other department that allows it currently? Also I don't see how a bad guy being able to get a clear sight picture on me sitting there typing my private property accident report makes me safer.
Take home radius. How about we push that out a little bit? If it's that expensive I'm sure officers would rather pay a nominal per-mile premium than not have the benefits of a true take home car.
The list goes on and on, and I hope others will chime in on the issues I have not mentioned, but the point is all of these things are doable from within the department if the chiefs office is serious about making improvements. Everything mentioned is either a cost savings over the current way of doing things, or will be willingly payed for by the officer.
And keep in mind, these fantasies we are told about the negatives are just that, fantasies. Departments all over the state, and country, are ALREADY DOING THESE THINGS for their officers and seeing great results. Maybe we should catch up so we stand a chance of leading again?
Since we know command staff is watching, I would like to have an answer. A serious one, not a knee jerk dismissal like we usually hear. I've given this serious thought and I see no reason we can't make these changes. It will pay off for the department in a huge way down the road.
PS I apologise for being afraid to identify myself, but I have been punished before for speaking up. As have others
Great ideas - but why should we pay for everything ourselves- we are already behind many departments pay and now you propose we pay for everything - why not propose we can buy our own patrol vehicles - that will save the county money as well. We have been giving our own time and money for too long- “doing more with less” - which is why we have many of the problems we have. The ideas are fabulous - just not at the expense of the officers.
I for one will not pay for anything for this county. I would like an outside audit done to see where all the money is going. Also, why are we not allowed to have tinted windows yet the Chief's and Deputy Chief's have tint so dark you cannot even see them.
Because it’s a “safety issue” duh!
Well here's the problem with that article. “The health and well-being of our officers is our priority,” said Rokus, noting that lower-back pain is a significant health issue for law enforcement personnel everywhere. “This study shows empirically that transitioning to the load-bearing vests is the right thing to do for our officers and our community.” The Cobb way is, "Our officers? Who gives a f*** about them?"
Same old tired song GTAC. We follow others lead. Where’s all these community organizations that claim to support pd. Hard to blame east Cobb and south Cobb for wanting to annex. Dekalb county here we come! The deterioration of the reputation and territory of Cobb pd has began. And what a reaction by the commissioners today. I bet the city of east Cobb will pay well. I bet south Cobb will be ahead of the county. I mean Cherokee and Paulding are going to out pace Cobb. We lead others follow. What a joke
PART I:
GTAC concept has been preached since long before I came here but at this point the question has to be asked “why should I stay here?”. I applied to CCPD and ONLY CCPD because it’s the only dept I wanted to work for, my family is from Cobb and Cobb Police put away serious bad guys who did personal harm to my family. Other people have no such ties to the county. You can’t blame those of us who have already become stagnant in our career in our mid twenties to be upset... The common answer from those with brass is “then go work for —— if it’s so much better there”. That is a terrible attitude to have towards a retention crisis! We aren’t ungrateful we aren’t lazy we aren’t a bunch of slugs, we would just like at least comparable pay/benefits to other similar depts nearby. There has to be something in place that you can look toward the future and KNOW if I continue to work hard and do a good job I can work my way up the pay scale towards a reasonable maximum. Cobb County lists a min-max for the pay but how do you even reach the max? The answer is you can’t. I could have exceeds for the last 5 years and be making the exact same I was given when I got off probation. If you were brand new looking to sign up for this (undesirable) job why would you apply to Cobb, ask yourself what makes CCPD stand out from everywhere else? Our reputation and training can only carry so far. At this point if nothing changed and I continued with the max match provided by the county to my retirement, worked for the full 30 years to receive my 30% pension plus my 401/457 I could expect 15k a year from the pension and 12k a year from my 401/457. (I obviously am also saving on my own because I’m not insane) but for the sake of argument I would like to point out that I would have to live off of $520 a week (pre tax) not accounting for inflation, thats 2019 dollars not 2044 dollars. With my whopping salary of less than 46k last year pre tax, gross was closer to 32k. It can be difficult to put away a lot extra for retirement. I don’t expect Cobb County to bail me out or pay my way for the rest of my life when I retire, however this dumb millennial feels that doing a professional job in a professional environment can be worth a professional salary and benefits. You will have to excuse me for feeling “entitled” to at least the yearly salaries advertised to us when we applied, I do sometimes forget that when we millennials TRY to take the advice of those who came before us and prepare ourselves financially for the future we are just being “whiny kids”. Oh before I forget, the equivalent retirement under the old system with zero extra effort by the employee would be worth about $850 a week pre tax, guaranteed not counting on the market to sustain it. Cant imagine why people under the old plan stick it out and people under the new plan are leaving faster than we can hire them, I guess maybe they were just lazy…
Cont. in PT II
PT II:
In the meantime now that I’ve used numbers to justify our being upset over this. Chief Register, I have a ton of respect for your reputation and your honesty toward us with the meetings. I also am impressed by how much you preach our good name every chance you get and back it with facts and figures. I would ask though please be our CHAMPION! By that i mean use your platform to praise us as you do, then add to that. IE crime is down X% this year compared to last year, DESPITE RECORD NUMBERS OF OFFICERS LEAVING THE DEPT. Every chance you get follow up with info about our crisis. You gave us the facts about recruitment give it to everyone else too! Be the Chief who never stops banging the drum for his troops! Make our commissioners embarrassed to show their faces for how much CCPD is doing with so little! You have the platform, the knowledge, the speaking abilities, and the strength to do it. We aren’t dumb, we know you don’t decide pay but we also know that no ones voice carries more weight than yours. No amount of low morale or grumbling in squad meetings will let the public know about the crisis. Gaynor and Lance did us RIGHT in the BOC meeting but be real NO ONE cares about those meetings. They look and feel like a bad episode of “parks and rec”. The AJC and MDJ eat up police related drama. They would fight to be the first to publish anything you say about a crisis. At the very least it would help morale to see our chief publicly fighting for us. It’s in your hands, no one but you can decide to do this likewise no one but you can stop you from doing this. It may not benefit recruitment to admit crisis publicly but it may give some us reason to hang in there a little longer, because you know…GTAC.
Also there is no way I could stand up and say this in a public meeting one on one, too involved and all my command staff staring. Career suicide if I end up staying here. As I get closer to (sadly) leaving CCPD I become far more willing to talk about this one on one, maybe at my exit interview…
Much Love
-AvemCanis.
I know a certain PCT 3 Officer would love to have a sit down with our command staff and be the voice of what is good and bad with CCPD. Not only a bitch session, but a down and dirty reality check. Rumor has it he plans to unseat the FOP President upon his return. Some of you here may know who I'm speaking of and he does stay in touch with a few of us. We know he is not afraid to put his name to his post. He started off by introducing himself and spoke the truth in the pay survey we did. Being in contact with him to see if he gets this site so he could see what him and others will come back too. Said he is unable so I copied a lot of this and will post his reply
Chief, If you want officers to talk openly with you, then you must have a meeting where no other command staff is present, especially the Major at Hq, and maybe we would be able to talk with you without retaliation from others. Just a thought.
And the reason why you get “then go work for —— if it’s so much better there" from supervision as opposed to pre "pay study" when you got just as much complaining from them as anyone is because their pay/compression was fixed so why should they care anymore.
They also have a retirement that makes sticking around and drinking the kool aid worth it. A lot of them feel the same way, but have too much riding on their careers to speak up.
This sounds a lot like: "I told mom what you did and when she gets home you're in trouble"
Actually, most supervisors I know still care, and still do their best to help out at the precincts. I am sorry if your supervisors don't do that for you, but don't lump all supervisors in to the same pot. As we all know, our sergeants and lieutenants can't do anything about your pay, but we should not think badly about them, just because they got a raise. That's not fair to them. If you want that raise so much, I believe there's a promotional test being given every two years.
We all need a raise. That much is true. Every supervisor I have seen has tried to talk people out of leaving. The grass is always greener on the other side, until the person that left realizes it's not any greener, and nothing is different in the new job.
I don't fault anyone for thinking of leaving. If you find a dream job, or even a better-paying job in law enforcement, go for it. Cobb is not so horrible that you couldn't spend a career here. I'm not saying there are no problems here. I am blatantly aware of all of the problems. We should continue to pressure the command staff and the commissioners to make changes. But let's face it; it's government. It never moves quickly. It will always be slow.
In the film Jerry Maguire, when the athlete and the agent had a meeting about the performance of the agent. What was discussed was who was holding up their end of the bargain at game time and that is exactly what Cobb Officers do on a daily basis. We show up and give our blood and sweat every shift. It is time to "SHOW ME THE MONEY".
Welcome Seattle Police to the South and to Atlanta, where you will find the finest officers. No need to pass out sponge cars, stickers and pencils. Just drop that piece of paper on the table with the following step and grade Officer salary through 4.5 years.
Step 1- $81,444 after certified
Step 2- $87,336 at 6 months
Step 3- $91,308 at 18 months
Step 4- $94,824 at 30 months
Step 5- $99,576 at 42 months
Step 6- $106,632 at 54 months
Pay for Lateral Officers range between Step 3-5, depending on experience and will attain Step 6 after the successful completion of Step 5. Overtime and compensatory time is paid at time and 1/2, with a 3-hour minimum for court and off-duty call outs.
Now that Atlanta Police pays more than Cobb County. You can add more to your earnings when Atlanta pay would be equivalent to $72K in Seattle and starting pay there is at $81K with top out in 4.5yrs at $106K. Looks to me that time spent at work and at home, instead of on the needed part times to keep up with the ever increasing contributions in retirement plans and medical plans gets my attention.
Seattle had an estimated 730,000 residents as of 2018, covering 142.5 sq mi across the city. While Cobb had an estimated population of 755,750 people in 2017, covering a total of 345 sq mi. Both are flourishing business rich districts and thrive on recreation areas. Oh yeah, both voted democrat in the last election.
In Seattle as of 2011, it had a staff of around 1,800. Currently around 1,300 officers. While Cobb is allotted around 700 and the Chief recently said we were down 70. So that puts us quickly approaching 600 officers.
When will the Cobb County management step up?
https://www.cbs46.com/news/seattle-pd-recruits-in-atlanta-as-the-city-promises-raises/article¿afe05e4a-3493-11e9-bf93-cbfd257bbf80.html?utm¿medium=social
By no means is anyone blaming any supervision for the raise they got. I think we have lots of good leadership and plenty of not so good. You have to consider though there are many career officers that have no aspiration to test an enjoy what they do. However, the county is making it more and more difficult to dedicate yourself to this job when their actions definitely do not support the uniform officer.
I don't think comparing anything to Seattle is the answer. I absolutely think they have to fix the pay here but if you think working in Seattle would be a good idea then go ahead. I think if you want to at an area more equivalent to here then you should look to Dallas, TX where the cost of living is on par with the Atlanta area.
That being said, right now we need to bring up APD. APD is now starting at $48,500 which is close to $8,500 more than our starting pay. People will say, "Well if its so much better then go work for them." They really miss the point. Cobb has to compete with APD for the same recruits. When someone does a google search and looks for police departments to work for they will find that APD starts off far higher than Cobb. They will not have any idea about what working for APD vs Cobb would be like, they will only know starting pay is far higher.
Another issue is going to be the possible step and grade pay scale. Chief said they were looking at a 20 year plan, which is pretty ridiculous. If you search through other police departments across the country you see most departments do 10 or 12 year plans. So its like the county is trying to do something halfway and as cheaply as possible. One good outcome from any step and grade plan would be a fix to the compression in the department.
One thing everyone should do is get involved. Criticizing will not help change anything. Instead if you have good ideas then you should float them. Maybe use this blog to do that without fear of any sort of reprisals. Also find out what the FOP is doing to push for change. While the FOP is flawed, there is no better alternative for officers at this department. The FOP can say things you cannot say as an officer without repercussions.
Hopefully the county will step up and make changes to the pay this year and then address the retirement for public safety. That being said, I would not count on it.
Isn't it ironic that officers are complaining about low pay and retirement are the same individuals that thinks painting with a kid or sharing a cup of coffee with cobb county taxpayers and voters is not worth their time?
-Joe Taxpayer
Hey Joe, thanks for your opinion. But when those complaining officers are routinely going to dangerous calls without sufficient backup because 2-3 of the beats in their precinct are going unmanned, sending precious manpower off to paint and drink coffee seems a bit... wasteful. If you are implying that officers need to earn the support of the taxpayers by wasting what little manpower we have on non law enforcement duties, perhaps you should sign up for a ride along in a busy precinct and see what is actually going on in this county. I suspect you will be shocked.
Like that guy over in Zone 4 that complained when he learned his home's beat was unmanned almost every shift every day for months!
Well it’s been weeks and no news has came out of the board room. Nothing. Are you commissioners that damn stupid?
You have no room to complain if you don’t go to the meeting tonight.
Well the FOP President's position has been open for three terms and no one has step up to take the job from me. So if they think they can do better then please make sure they come to at least 6 meetings before October. My wife would be very happy if someone else takes over, it would end all the phone calls, endless meetings and planning, and all the stress of battling with the commissioners.
And it also would be nice if they start showing up at the commissioner meetings speak for the officers. I guess I just missed them at the last two commissioner meetings this month where we did have presentations?
I do not usually read this blog because of all the crap on it, but this post was pointed out to me last night as I prepared for my speech to the commissioners. So this morning I could not resist a reply.
Signed
The President of the Cobb FOP!
Steve, you have done a great job and as a current FOP member, I could not ask for a better representative. I will be voting for you again.
I couldn't attend. Had to come in so we were only 3 open beats instead of 4
Someone else needs to step up. I hope the P3 person is an FOP Member and runs for FOP President ��������. Why stop there? Why not have Officers attend meetings and run for other offices?
***Make sure they attend the required 6 meetings before October.
Patti Craft-Gaynor
Ditto. Your level of institutional knowledge is unmatched. Thank you!
The interesting part is Steve stands to gain nothing by doing any of this for us and ironically the people he is trying to help were too lazy to make it to the meeting.
No it sounds more like you just wait till my big brother gets here. He is gonna kick your but. Pretty lame.
what was it, 4 or 5 that are leaving as of last week?
Not all specialty units recieved the raise. I also know of one detective who they forgot about and never got back pay. I bet if the higher ups got a raise and one was left out, they would of got their back pay.
Going to the meetings will not do anything. Crying children(FOP email) will not do anything. This is a sinking ship and they will eventually see it when the air bubbles stop coming up from the wreckage.
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