My parents were honest-to-goodness hippies. My father was the more staid of the two, never quite leaving the fifties, with his Fonzie haircut and his “gang” of fellow New Yorkers. But my mother embraced the sixties with open arms, wearing love beads, blue jeans (very radical back then on Girl Scout den mothers), and flowers in her hair. I grew up wishing my parents were June and Ward Cleaver, but instead I was raised by the Woodstock Generation’s version of The Osbournes. Let’s just say, in my house I didn’t eat the brownies.
The life lessons my parents thought we should learn were Peace, Love, Happiness…Police Brutality. Being the “Alex P. Keaton” of the family, I must have been my parents’ worst nightmare. While my two brothers followed in my mother’s footsteps and became her partners in “crime,” not to mention her bail bonds business, I insisted on going to Hebrew School, college and becoming a productive member of society. Completely rebelling from my parents’ inherent mistrust of the law and those who enforce it, I went into the legal field and became an honest, upright, voting citizen and, as you all know, community activist. In addition, I have always supported and respected those people who became police officers.
In their later years, of course, my parents eventually grew up and became adults. (My brothers, not so much – one died at 32 from his own excesses and the other is now a homeless scam artist.) My parents, especially my dad, ended up being proud of me and my accomplishments, even if they couldn’t understand my blatant patriotism and respect for the rule of law.
I raised my children to espouse all the virtues that I believed were righteous. I tried to instill in them a passion for always doing the right thing, telling the truth, and respecting the rights of others. Above all, I taught them to respect the law and the men and women who protect our freedoms, including police officers.
Imagine the horror I felt welling up inside me when I found myself telling my daughter last night to be extra careful while driving around North Miami Beach because some members of our police department are on a rampage. OMIFREAKINGGOD I SOUND LIKE MY PARENTS!
I never thought I’d see the day when I’d be warning my own children against “police brutality!” Well, okay, it’s not quite “brutality,” but still, it doesn’t make me happy to have to tell my daughter that the very people I raised her to treat with respect may not return the favor.
At 19, my daughter is no kid. She’s light years beyond having to be warned of “Stranger Danger.” Plus, she’s already had her share of disappointment in the human race and had her illusions of “all people are good” smashed. After all, my daughter did manage to survive “teenage girl brutality” in high school. Still, it was quite distasteful for me to have to admit that the very people I taught her to trust implicitly as a little girl just might not be the guardian angels she thought they were. This is pretty damn unfortunate!
During these tough economic times, when the topic of the city’s budget is looming over everyone’s heads, some members of the North Miami Beach Police Department are showing their true colors. Yes, I get that there are 24 officers now targeted for layoffs and the rest of them are mad as hell, too. Unfortunately, they have ramped up their intimidation tactics and are now brandishing a “show of force” in an effort to get the City to back down and pull money out of it’s collective ass so they can all keep their jobs.
Some of them are really pissed off at me for my anti-Union stance. The irony is that, in an effort to defend their Union, they are only proving my point. Now they are attacking me and telling me that I am not a supporter of the Police Department. Judging by some of the “hate mail” and comments I’ve been getting, it’s quite obvious that what I wrote was way over their heads. For example, I received a comment from someone calling himself “Jay Brewman.” He writes:
I won’t even go into my usual rant about poor spelling, grammar and punctuation because, frankly, as funny as my commentary would be, it would also be a complete waste of time. If they didn’t learn how to use proper English in twelve years of school, they’re not about to learn now. I will still lament the fact that capital letters and apostrophes do seem to be in short supply with these guys.
I’m not even going to go into Mr. Brewman’s obvious lack of knowledge about “kool aid drinkers.” Calling me a “kool aid drinker” is about as accurate as my calling him a Rhodes Scholar. It’s not even worth my time explaining.
If Mr. Brewman had actually read and comprehended my last column, “Bad Apples?” (https://www.votersopinion.com/?p=405), he would have seen that I wrote, “In fact, [my husband] was more angry about the treatment he received than getting the actual ticket.” Carmen couldn’t give a crap about the ticket. He just didn’t appreciate being rudely treated. How difficult is that to understand?
Mr. Brewman also seems to have missed my lament about the fact that one of NMB’s Finest referred to the residents of North Miami Beach – you know, the ones footing the bill – as “undesirables” and that our city is “infested” with who they obviously believe are nothing but low life criminals. HOW DO YOU THINK WE FEEL HEARING THAT KIND OF CRAP?
I’ve been hearing more and more stories about how the cops REALLY feel about those of us who they are supposed to be serving and protecting. Referring to us as “animals” is a mild epithet compared to some of the more salient words they commonly use. REAL NICE!
In the last few weeks, I’ve seen a side to our Police Department that I never thought I’d see. I have always been a supporter of our police, no matter how “anti-Union” I am! The officers who know me personally know this, and they know how much I have always respected them. I still do! I will not let the few “bad apples” sour my opinion of the majority of our force. Until now, I have never been one of those residents who are critical of the way this department has been run, nor of the salaries that most of them make. But now I have to tell you that some of the paychecks I’ve been seeing are quite outrageous. I’ll save my comments about that for another column because I’m angry enough as it is right now.
It’s bad enough being referred to as “undesirables,” but to state that our city is “infested” like we are nothing but rodents is beyond despicable.
Sorry, but I just can’t get past that right now.
If the cops wanted our support, they’re not exactly doing anything to earn it by their attitudes. Pissing off the very people who have defended and supported them is not the way to gain sympathy for their cause.
They picked the wrong person to piss off.
Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”
Reading what “Jay Brewman” (cop?) wrote, no wonder many of the cases they bring before judges are thrown out.
The best thing the city can do is cut the NMBPD salaries at 25%.
An officer was crying on the TV the other day she is considered only as a number. She was only number 22, and can be laid off with 23 other officers. Upon reviewing what she made, it is not a wonder she wants to stay with the NMBPD. See below.
She stated from high school she has been working with the NMBPD for 5 years. An officer of same rank, 18 years on the force works for almost the same amount of money she works for.
She also said her mommy and daddy works for the same department and she was following in their foot steps. Nepotism?
POLICE OFFICER: C. COFFEY
SALARY $76,995
PENSION $55,629
F.I.C.A. $5,944
HEALTH CARE INS. $5,853
TRANSFER TO WORKERS COMP $2,618
CELL PHONE ALLOWANCE $600
LIFE INSURANCE $315
ACCIDENTAL DEATH & DISMEMBERMENT $26
TRAVEL & EXPENSES ****
CLEANING UNIFORM $500
TOTAL $148,480
****City provided vehicle, fuel, maintenance
Jack,
I’m having trouble understanding why you’re criticizing a particular officer for wanting to keep her job. I found the news clip that you mentioned, and she was hardly “crying.” Rather, she seemed to me to be an individual who is in fear of losing her job and likely her sole source of income. I’m sure when she left high school, she didn’t stroll up to the city and demand $76,000 a year. She applied for the job, got it, and the city agreed to pay her that amount. It seems unfair to paint her or any other officer as money-hungry individuals who are undeserving of their current salaries. If it were me in this position, I would do all that I could to keep my job–especially in this job market. If that meant expressing my opinion on the news, you’d see no opposition from me. Regarding the reporter mentioning that her parents also worked for the department, it’s likely that the intent of that statement was to underlie the fact that the officer has ties to the city that run deep and being laid off may mean more to her than just having to look for another job. You’ve essentially created a profile for this officer that reads: spoiled, unqualified little girl who rode on daddy’s coattails and fooled the city of NMB into paying her an exorbitant sum of money for little work. She and every other officer working for NMB have a right to fight for their jobs. According to the information that you posted, the average officer seems to make more than double my annual salary, and I graduated Phi Beta Kappa from a renowned university. But you know what? I’m not angry. If I had the courage to risk my life every day, then I would have applied to be a cop. I know that NMB doesn’t have a gang-related shooting or brutal homicide every day, but our city is far from ideal in the safety department. I, personally, feel more at ease when I see an NMB police car nearby and the thought of having 24 less is a bit unnerving. Whether you believe it is better to keep the officers and cut expenses elsewhere, or to lay them off, is completely your opinion. However, I think it is uncalled for to attack officers on a personal level and make it seem as if their work was never worth the amount of money that they were earning to begin with. Please don’t belittle the officers for simply trying to protect their livelihood.
Gdip, I challenge you or any of the “24” to review the budget (posted online for some time now) and come up with $8 million. I hope to see your suggestions soon. Copy the city manager of course.
As I stated previously, how best to resolve this budget deficit is a matter of opinion. You are entitled to yours, and I to mine. My chief complaint was the blatant attack on an officer and the assumption that she was undeserving of her position when she was first hired and undeserving of her salary now, 5 years later. I am upset that officers are being made out to be villains because of the amount of money they make and because they are unwilling to sit back and quietly watch their jobs get the axe. These individual officers did not steal money from the city and cause this deficit. There’s no need to plaster their personal information on the web and criticize them as if they’ve done something wrong. These are police officers, not common criminals worthy of censure. Once the 1/4 of our police department is gone and the real criminals come out of the woodwork, maybe you’ll be able to discern the difference.
Gdip, like you, my son graduated Magna Cum Laude and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. I am incredibly proud of him. Like you, he also earns about half the salary of most of the cops in NMB. He’s not complaining because he loves being a teacher. I don’t believe that Jack said this particular officer was undeserving of her job. I happen to know her personally, and I know she is a very dedicated and professional police officer. I believe that Jack was merely wondering how she is making the same salary as some of the veteran police officers.
As for publishing their salaries on the web, this information is a public record and anyone can obtain it. Personally, I was aghast when I found out that the salaries of public employees were a matter of public record. I have always worked in the private sector, and as such, salaries are a very private matter. In fact, until I got involved in politics, I have always considered it impolite to discuss money in mixed company. It would be like telling the world your bra size! Unfortunately, and I’m sure Miss Manners would be appalled, nowadays money is a very popular subject. Almost as popular as the sex lives of celebrities. I must say that the bad economy has certainly taken the focus off Paris Hilton! As distasteful as it is to bring up someone’s salary, in the budget conscious climate in which we are living today, the cost of government is a very public topic. It is a necessary evil. Frankly, I’d much rather discuss how hot Dwight Yoakam looks in his leather jeans. Yeah, I’d much rather be doing that…
I do not know what’s so hard for people to understand. We do not have the money and we are paying too much. We need to cut back on the salaries, and have pension reforms otherwise we go bankrupt.
The PD personel are the ones who will not receive pension checks when this happens. They should be thanking us, we have kahounas to tell them what is a better alternative.
Are we in Iran or Syria to be afraid of our own police?
Stephanie,
Thank you for your insight. I’m happy to hear that not everyone has adopted a sour opinion of our police. Just before your response I found the complete listing of employee salaries for the city. How very detailed it is! I understand the need for this to be public, but not so much the need to pick on one officer. After all, I wouldn’t like to be ganged-up on just because I went into the family business and got paid well for it.
I am astounded that some are shocked at an officers pay yet it is comparable to other comparable cities. NMB Officers pension is not the greatest. Recently FRS was free, no contributions; now its 3% yet NMB Officers contribute something like 11%. A secretary for the city of NMB makes around 78K is that comparable? The council has an expense account of about 24K where do you spend that? The City Attorney makes 350,000.00 and then the City still hires a labor attorney at 210,000.00. Why is it under the health part of the budget for employees a secretarys health is 9566.00 but an Officers is 5853.00? I would think the Officer would deserve better health insurance but I guess their pay makes up for that right? Or maybe their take home car will pay for any serious ailments. Did anyone in the City receive a pay raise? How much severence pay did the City fork out for the 2 previous fired City Managers and the Police Chief? I dont see the severence packages in the budget. The take home car policy, is that just Officers? Are there city officials other than police that get a take home car? Just focusing on others than police where questions should be answered regarding the budget.
There is PLENTY at the city that could be cut. A secretary makes $78K???? Seriously???? Geez, where can I get that gig? I know that in the private sector, top notch, full time paralegals make probably between $50K and $70K (or at least they did back when the economy was good), but the private sector is SUPPOSED to pay higher than the public sector. At least it used to.
I’ve been railing on and on about the city attorney’s salary, and the fact that she needs not one, but two, assistant city attorneys AND still keeps outside counsel on retainer. This is utter BS and a complete waste of money. At nearly $300,000.00 (which is her approximate new compensation package), I still think she’s making way too much for a city our size. Never mind the money spent on outside counsel. There is definitely room to cut the fat.
The police budget is the focus right now because it happens to be 52% of our budget. This is one of the highest percentages in South Florida. Considering we only have 42,000 residents (and not the whopping 60,000 that former city manager Kelvin Baker was dreaming of when he blew about $150,000 to “do the census”), our ratio of police offers per resident is also one of the lowest in South Florida as well. These are just some of the reasons this issue has become such a hot topic.
You are correct that all areas of the city need to be addressed, and not just the police department. The cold plain truth is that the city is in deep financial trouble. The problems were mainly caused by the previous mayor, Myron Rosner, and his cohort, the fired city manager Kelvin Baker. Some of the council members that have been around longer than that are also to blame for not being fiscally responsible. It is unfortunate that the new administration is now having to deal with the problems. Even more unfortunate, they are also taking the heat.
Steph, many people (including you) seem to leave out the fact that in mid 2008 the PD had Code Enforcement placed into their budget. Prior to Code coming into the PD our budget was less than what it is now. I wish people would clarify statements like “The Police budget accounts for 52% of the budget” with “The Police and Code Enforcement budget accounts for 52% of the budget”.
The PD cannot take on an entire other department without money to pay for that department. I think that omitting the Code part paints an unfair picture overall and misleads people who don’t realize that Code is also part of the PD and therefore increases the overall budget.
I also find it funny when people post the total compensation for officers, sergeants and the like yet these same people never post the compensation of similar municipal officers and how NMB compares overall with other agencies in South Florida. NMB is not above average nor are they below average for salary and pay as it relates to most South Florida municipalities. Remember- you get what you pay for.
Everyone (at least in the Law Enforcement community) knows that even prior to Katrina the New Orleans PD was the most corrupt in the nation and study after study reflected the cause of this rampant corruption was due to the very low pay of the officers of that agency; among other factors but the pay has been cited as the chief reason. Many studies have shown a nexus between low paid law enforcement officers and corruption; the lower the pay the more likely corruption will occur. So if people in NMB want to pay NMB officers Opa Locka, Florida City or New Orleans type pay think about what that could possibly mean and what kind of officers this City will “attract” in the future.
Frank, thanks for your response. You are right that I didn’t mention Code Enforcement, which I completely forgot was in the police budget. This is definitely a factor when doing the calculations. Do you happen to know what the true figures are then?
I have heard that theory about the correlation of salary and corruption. I have to tell you that even though this may be true, the idea that we have to literally bribe people to be honest makes me grit my teeth. When I hear things like that it just gets my back up. I earn less than the starting salary of an NMB police officer, but you will not find a more honest employee than me. It would not even occur to me to steal a penny from my boss, and I keep the books of about 10 companies worth over millions of dollars, including writing all the checks. I imagine a person without integrity would probably be able to figure out a way to embezzle quite a bit of money. I am not that person! With good reason, my boss trusts me implicitly and I take great pride in that fact. I place an extraordinary value on virtues such as honor, integrity and honesty. If I were to betray those virtues, I could never live with myself. By the same token, I expect nothing less from the people with whom I associate, and especially those I support for public office. This is exactly the reason that I campaigned vigorously for George Vallejo and several other council members. If I thought for one second any of them were capable of corruption I would never have done so.
That being said, I regretfully accept the fact that there are corrupt people, including cops. I also find that to be even more repulsive because I put the most trust in the people responsible for public safety. One almost expects a politician to be corrupt, but if you can’t trust a cop, then who can you trust?
The notion that a police officer’s level of honesty is only commensurate with how much he is paid is something that I find abhorrent. I don’t care if it’s true or not, it disgusts me.
Since you mentioned your salary would you be willing to scan your paycheck and post it? Also, no one has mentioned what is the starting salary of a NMB Officer. I saw a vacant position for 46,756.00 so I am assuming that would be the starting salary, less than a secretary for the City, interesting. I also noticed that every NMB Officer is getting paid 75K or more. Does that mean that we have no new Officers? Or is the budget just posting what they get paid after five years, which would be skewing the numbers if in fact they do have new officers.
Why do you want to see my paycheck? First of all, I work in the private sector so it’s not a matter of public record. Second of all, I do not work full time anymore, so I don’t earn what a full time paralegal makes. In fact, I’ve been off the market for 34 years and I don’t even know what the going rate is now. The last time I even checked was probably about 10 years ago, and at that time it was about $60,000 at a medium size law firm, much higher for a large firm such as Greenberg, Traurig, for example. Since you already know the starting salary of an NMB police officer, I will tell you that I make less than that. I am not complaining about my salary, either, because I choose to do what I do and I earn my paycheck. Not only am I not complaining, but I’m certainly not comparing, either. I only brought this up (please read what I wrote again) to make the point that there is no excuse for corruption, no matter how little or how much we make. My comment really had nothing to do with how much I or anyone else makes. It had to do with being an honest person. If I wasn’t clear about it before, I am stating that now.
Starting officer salaries are in the 40’s and after a 5 or 7 year step increase, reach the mid 70’s. Now, if an officer is hired who has previous law enforcement experience, after his probationary period (1 year), he/she can petition the Civil Service Board for up to 4 years of prior service, which will escalate those steps up to 4. This brings them in line with other officers with similar experience. I hope this provides some explanation to your question. Unfortunately, I don’t have the specific number at hand.
P.H.
Ms. Kenzle,
Regardless of this post I respect your blog for its impartiality. I want to think that you were misinformed or just maybe I do not quite understand your intention.
The following is information that I have personally uncovered:
Our city leaders are claiming a large shortfall and blaming it on these poor officers. These officers should not be blamed by mismanagement by our city.
Where did the money go when the market was at its peak? Our city leaders want the police department to come up with the shortfall by taking the biggest hit. No other city department is being forced to do this. It almost seems like a vendetta.
What some do not understand is that the police department is a twenty four hour operation. They go out there when no one else wants to. These officers are here all the time. I frankly do not want their jobs because I have the luxury of running away from danger; they do not! Now back to the budget. The inflated budget that our city leaders want us to believe.
Ms. Kenzle, Please ask our council the following:
What about the 8 MILLION DOLLARS that the have moved from the general budget and placed it into a new made- up account called the Proprietary Enterprise Fund?
Why they have over $200,000 DOLLARS in their Contingency Fund to use as they please?
Why they are always over budget for all their travels?
Why do they take their families on their travels and our city picks up the bill?
What does the council have an expense account of $23,999 dollar each a year per council member ($23,999 X 6 = $143,994) and $24,500 for the Mayor? And why do they always exceed their allotted amounts?
What about the money that they receive from the police department from LETF funds for Parks and Recreations for most of our youth programs?
Why have they inflated most of these numbers to scare us into thinking that our city is in such need?
Why our city leaders do not file a State of Urgency? I’ll answer this one: Because they have to show proof of the supposed financial deficit.
Also, our city has a legal team of five persons. This legal team only provides defense in civil suits against our city. Yet, only one has made it to trial when many of them were winnable. We hire outside legal representation for everything else. This team costs our city over $800,000 a year.
I have just located almost $ 9 MILLION DOLLARS!!! WHERE IS THE DEFICIT???
As for your union bashing or anit-union comments please gather your facts like you always do before going on this path and please do not listen to others who may be providing you bad information.
The Union is not to blame. There have not been any negotiations or even just talks between our city and our officers. How can anything be reached if our city administrators are not even willing to put their heads together to come to agreement. Ms. Kenzle you of all people understand unions and pensions since you have benefited from both in the past and still continue to do so. I don’t recall your husband resigning his union status or his pension. This affords you the luxury of being our advocate. I for one am grateful because if it wasn’t for him we would not have you looking out for us citizens.
Now about cutting officers, are you people crazy???? How can my child attend any of the programs offered by our city if they can not walk out of the house safely???
I have lived in this city for many years. I have seen the many changes this city has taken both good and bad. However, this is the worst idea yet. Think of this: If I was a criminal where would I go to commit a crime? I would go to a city that is already stretched thin on officers as it is and now will have even fewer officers. Not to mention those officers remaining would suffer such a loss in morale and faith in us as citizens. PLEASE DO NOT LET THEM CUT OFFICERS!!! We will be the ones to suffer most.
And last but not least please stop putting these exuberant amounts for pensions into the officers’ salaries. They do not receive those amounts every year. When our city could’ve put the required amounts and more into the pensions during the real estate boom they chose not to! Instead, they contributed less than the required amounts or none at all. Where’s that money?
Our officers have always contributed faithfully to the pension. Not to mention our officers contribute 11.1 percent into their pensions. They contribute the most out of any other law enforcement agency!
Thank you again for all that you do for the citizens and please continue fight for us!
Moving fee-for-service funds (like garbage collection) into enterprise funds is not made-up. It’s proper accounting and should have been done that way from the get-go.
The other city departments have already been bled dry. Year after year, every vacancy removed. Year after year, operating costs slashed. There’s no vendetta about it. It’s just reality.
Thanks for writing. I will try to answer some of your questions, and I’ll also write to the council with your other questions. You know you can always write to the mayor and council any time and you’ll get a response from at least three or four of them. But, I’ll be happy to bring your concerns to them on your behalf.
I will tell you that the money problems really started back in the middle of 2008 when the former council (including Myron Rosner before he became the mayor) decided to hire then city manager Kelvin Baker for the job. Myron had the previous city manager, Keven Klopp, fired because Keven wouldn’t be Myron’s personal banker. That’s the short version. There is more to the story, but the main reason is that Myron resented Keven for not letting him get his way, especially when it involved requesting money for outrageous things. Myron then maneuvered Kelvin Baker’s hiring in August, 2008, and then the party started. For example, when Myron wanted to spend our money staying in luxury hotels for LOCAL EVENTS, Kelvin signed off. Whatever Myron wanted, Kelvin granted his every wish. Aside from that, Kelvin was beyond incompetent as a city manager. Instead of noticing that the economy was tanking and cutting the budget, he simply dipped into the city’s reserves and handed a bloated budget to the council. He told them there was plenty of money, and they blindly believed him. Or at least, they pretended to. It didn’t matter that there was no revenue to support the budget, no one paid any attention at all to the fact that the reserves were getting dangerously low. Once Myron became the mayor, all hell broke loose! He went on a spending spree to beat all sprees and he had a city manager who signed off on anything Myron wanted. The water plant’s reserves went from $50 million to $2 million. Where did all that money go? Well, considering the tax revenues took a nosedive and the city kept right on spending at the same rate it always did, I will assume that most of it was spent simply keeping the boat afloat. The council kept right on with their gazillion trips around the country, they put in for large sums of money to reimburse their out-of-pocket medical expenses, they had the Cadillac of all health insurance plans on our dime – you name it. No expense was spared. Million dollar pension contracts were given out like the city had Donald Trump’s expense account. I don’t know how much money could possibly have been spent on all this excess, but they managed to blow through it all. On top of that, we had employees embezzling millions of dollars. It was a literal free for all.
The next section of your questions and comments are really addressed to the council, so I will let them respond. I will, however, address the last part of your comments that you meant for me.
My opinion on unions in general still stands. I am not really going into the reasons right now, or I’d end up writing three columns, which I just don’t want to do here. Please understand that my stance is based mainly on the country’s largest union, SEIU, for which I have very little tolerance and absolutely no respect. I feel pretty much the same about several other national major unions, such as the federal employees union, because of the damage that I believe they have caused this country. HOWEVER, not all unions are the same. I have been talking to people and doing some research on my own, and I have learned that our local police union and general employee’s, for example, are run by city employees and are fairly independent from their national organizations. I do understand that they really believe they are operating in the best interests of their members. I just feel that there is a “union mentality,” if you will, that refuses to look at the bigger picture when it comes to negotiating with the city. To me this is a conflict of interest because the union is the mediator between both the employees of the city and the entity that writes the paycheck to the employees. We are not talking about an unbiased third party. The unions really are only working on behalf of their employee members. The city then has to look out for the best interests of it’s stakeholders. There are bound to be clashes.
As for my husband, if you talk to him he’ll tell you about his battles with his own union. I learned most of the union “tricks” by listening to his stories. My husband’s pension was negotiated over thirty years ago between his union and the county, as well as the Florida legislature. The pensions in the FRS are almost 100% funded, which means it was managed properly. The money that my husband gets now, which is nowhere near his former paycheck, has been paid into the system for over thirty years. The pension that have been negotiated with the city were much more extravagant, and are nowhere near 100% funded. I’m not sure what the percentage is, but I don’t even know if it’s at 50%. On top of that, the city is paying an 8% return on the funds, which is absolutely unheard of! Banks are not even making 8% on any of their investments. Mortgages are currently at or around 5%. If you open a CD at a bank, you’re lucky if you earn even 1.5%, so how do you think the city can afford a whopping 8%? It makes no sense whatsoever. Of course, these pension contracts were negotiated when interest rates were much higher – probably when 8% was considered a usual and customary return. This is nowhere near the case right now. If you have any questions about my husband’s union or his pension, please talk directly to him. He can explain it better than I can. I will tell you that his income is comfortable, but it’s nowhere near what he was earning before, especially with any overtime he earned. Luckily, we’re down to one kid left, and hopefully she’ll become self-supporting as soon as she graduates. I honestly don’t know how people are even affording groceries right now with kids still at home. I know we could never do it if we still had five kids to support.
I don’t know why you think I’m all for firing police officers, because nothing could be further from the truth. I want to keep as many patrol officers on duty as humanly possible. It’s not up to me at all, and I am sincerely hoping that something can be negotiated to keep them all. I have never posted their salaries, or even mentioned what they are earning, even though other people have. I have only referred to salaries in a very general way as a comparison to other employees, but without mentioning a specific dollar amount. If you’ve read any of my posts, you’ll know that I an extremely uncomfortable discussing a person’s income. It’s just so impolite and distasteful. It’s never done in the business world. I had a very hard time even bringing up Darcee’s salary when I first started investigating. But, like you and many others, I am appalled at her salary for a city this size. Even more appalling is the fact that she has two assistant attorneys under her, each making gobs of money (See? I still can’t bring myself to mention the number!), and then we spend an exorbitant amount of money on outside council. I completely agree with you on everything you said about the legal department!!! If it were up to me, I’d outsource the entire thing!
I hope I’ve been able to clarify my position for you. I know you will probably not agree with some of them, but my opinions are formed by doing my own reading and research and certainly not by what anyone else tells me. Please give me more credit than that.
My only issue with the police department now is the way some of them have been behaving, and especially some of the personal attacks I’ve been receiving. Some of the members on the department do understand why I feel the way I do, and they also know how much I appreciate and support them. My feelings about unions have nothing to do with my respect for the job and the people who chose to serve. One thing has nothing to do with the other. I’m sorry if some of them don’t understand this, but that is the truth.