One of my favorite childhood shows was I Love Lucy. It didn’t matter what I was doing, the minute I heard the familiar theme song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_CzPL_7LuQ) I would drop everything and run to the television. For the two or three people on the planet who aren’t familiar with the show, Lucille Ball played Lucy Ricardo, wife of Ricky Ricardo, who was played by Desi Arnaz. Lucy was constantly getting into all kinds of mischief with her best friend, Ethel Merman, played by Vivian Vance. Inevitably, Lucy and Ethel would realize that while it seemed like a good idea at the time, their schemes and plotting always got them into hot water. No matter how much they tried to cover up for themselves, their husbands would always find out. I was glued to the television screen and waited with anticipation for that moment in the show when Lucy would walk in and Ricky would say to his wife, “Luceeeee! You got some ‘splainin’ to do!” The deer-in-the-headlights look on Lucy’s face was one of those moments in television history that will forever be known as a classic.
Here in North Miami Beach, lots of people have some ‘splainin’ to do, too. As all of you know, we are in the midst of a heated budget battle, and like every other city on the global map, we are in dire economic straits. There is just not enough money to continue to run our local government the way it’s been done since probably the day our city was incorporated. Belts must be tightened, pennies must be pinched, and deep cuts must be made. Like most problems, the only way to tackle it is to go headlong through it and fix the mess.
Since every department in the city must make cuts, the police department, which accounts for approximately 52% of our budget, is also on the chopping block. Needless to say, the cops’ union is a tad disgruntled about having to be included in the plan. The union is insisting that there is absolutely no way to cut a single dime out of the police department’s budget without having to lay off 26 police officers and 13 civilians. They will tell you that something like 85% to 90% of their budget are for salaries, so any cuts made would necessarily result in layoffs. While that might or might not be true, if that is the case then maybe that’s part of the problem in the first place.
A resident sent me the following chart that he prepared after doing some research on the statistics of six cities around South Florida and compared them to North Miami Beach.
According to these figures, which are based on the 2011 budget, our police department costs on average 40% more per capita than any of the surrounding cities. To me, the most notable statistic is the fact that our neighboring city, North Miami, has approximately 21,000 more residents than we do, yet they only have seven more police officers than we do, and yet the North Miami police budget is at $20.861 million, about a million dollars more than ours at $19.812 million. How is it that seven more cops only cost North Miami a million dollars if salaries make up such a huge percentage of the budget? If you break it down to the two cities’ cost per officer, North Miami spends $169,601.63 to keep 123 police on the job, while North Miami Beach spends $170,792.10 per officer. That difference is negligible. However, if you consider that North Miami spends $336.47 per resident on its police department, compared to North Miami Beach’s cost of $483.22 per resident, that’s a pretty big difference. Cutting the police budget by the required $4 million will still cost the residents $385.66 per resident, which is still higher than North Miami. For those of you who still think that’s a bargain, please note that this is per resident and not per household. Even raising property taxes by $100.00 per house, won’t cover the shortfall. You’d have to charge every single resident in North Miami Beach an additional $107.56 to keep the police department at the existing cost. While some people might think this is peanuts, most people simply could not afford it, especially in families of four or more. Besides, there’s no legal way to dun residents for this expense, even if you call it “Street Furniture.”
The police union members are going out in the community in full force to get them to storm City Hall to tell the Mayor and Council to keep the police department intact. These people certainly have every right to petition their government. The police have every right to demonstrate and protest. I’m not making light of their Constitutional rights, nor would I ever attempt to infringe on them.
I just wonder how many of these people who are being told that the budget is being balanced “on the backs of the police” even have a clue what a budget is, much less how to balance one. I seriously doubt that many of them have an understanding as to what other services would be affected if the police union gets its way and gets to keep an even bigger piece of the pie. If the police department doesn’t have to cut its 52% share of the budget, while the rest of the city scales back, the police department will end up with an even larger percentage of the money. As it stands now, at 52% of the entire budget of North Miami Beach, our police department has a bigger share than practically every other police department in South Florida.
The way I look at it, our police department and its union have some ‘splainin’ to do. They need to tell us why they simply cannot run a police department, and retain all of their cops, on a budget on par with other cities. They need to tell us why they believe they are entitled to have more than an already astronomical 52% of the budget, while all the other departments have to chop their shares. They really need to convince not only the Mayor, Council and City Manager, but they need to convince the residents who do understand the budget and what must be done to save our city.
Instead of telling us what can’t be done, why don’t they try coming up with some positive and creative ideas to help the city deal with this financial crisis. Instead of coming to the council meeting tomorrow night and grandstanding by making accusations and using scare tactics, why doesn’t someone from the police department stand up during public comments and give some intelligent suggestions about how to balance the budget. Surely someone on that police department must have some ideas on how to not only save the police department, but to save the city they claim they care about so much. If the city ends up bankrupt, which is a definite possibility, the cops will end up kissing their jobs goodbye anyway. Doesn’t it behoove them to come up with a solution instead of compounding the problem?
What about the residents who are planning to come out to support our police department? Is there anyone among them who understands the city’s finances sufficiently to be able to make some constructive suggestions on how to fix the problem? We all know how to complain. That’s the easy part. Coming up with a plan to successfully balance a budget is an entirely different thing. If any of them have a plan I’d certainly love to hear it!
Everyone gets that a police department is an integral part of any community. Everyone wants to feel secure in knowing that our police officers are on the job around the clock. I believe I speak for most, if not all, residents by saying that we appreciate the commitment and sacrifice police officer make to keep us safe. There’s no disputing that.
Since we’re all in agreement about that, why don’t we start by explaining why our police department costs so much more than those of other cities, and then figure out how to go about fixing that problem so we can keep all the police department employees on the job. If other cities can do it, why can’t we?
Let the ‘splainin’ begin.
Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”
Great post. I find it slightly upsetting that some of your more ‘vocal’ readers have refrained from commenting. I guess it’s tough to BS when the facts are shown.
Sorry Chuck, I was speanding the day with my family.
Thanks. I was feeling all alone here until you wrote. 🙂
We are working very hard at making this work. Please be patient and the time will come. Everyone will be very happy at the outcome. Thank you all for the wounderful support and all the great information. Tomorrow will be very positive and a step in the right direction. Can someone please research the salaries and tell us where we rate with othet PD’s. I have been saying that this is a new beginning and it has given us the oppurtunity to see things for what they are. Thank you.
“Stop spreading the poision”.
Stopthemadness, I know you are a very reasonable person, and I really do hope you can help pull off a miracle! I don’t have the salary comparisons, but I will work on getting them and post them as soon as possible. Thanks!!
Steph
Lucy, Ing home!
Home Pre Katrina Home Articles Are Census numbers accurate?
Are Census numbers accurate?
The Census undercounts low-income people, children and minorities. But the Census is still one of the most important sources for data when you want to convince a funder about the need for your nonprofit’s services.
by Allison Plyer
Nov. 26, 2001 | The U.S. Census counted 281,000,000 people in 2000. To accomplish this huge task, the Census hired some 860,000 temporary workers and spent more than $6 billion in total.
Despite their best efforts, the Census Bureau estimates that the 2000 Census missed 6.4 million people (1). Although this is a relatively small number of people (only 2% of the population), most of those not counted are minorities, children, and low-income people. There are many reasons why people might not get counted in the Census, including: privacy concerns, homelessness, low literacy levels and not enough time to fill out the forms.
The Census also estimates that they counted 3.1 million people twice (1). Most of these people were white and affluent. One reason for them being counted twice is that they may have received two Census forms to fill out because they own two homes.
Here’s how estimates of the undercounts and overcounts look compared to the official count:
Census overcount and undercounts
The full analysis of the impact in Louisiana of the 2000 undercount is not out yet, but it’s useful to look at what we’ve learned from 1990 (7):
Louisiana minorities undercounted in 1990
In the 1990 Census, Louisiana had the tenth highest rate of undercounting in the nation.
It’s estimated that 94,112 people in Louisiana were not counted in the 1990 census. 61% of the uncounted people were minorities (mostly African Americans).
But only 34% of the state’s population was minorities, which means that more minorities than whites were left out of the count in Louisiana in 1990.
Louisiana children undercounted in 1990
Louisiana was among the top 5 states for highest rate of undercounted children in the 1990 Census. And among cities, New Orleans was in the top 6 for worst rate of undercounted children in 1990.
The Census Bureau estimates that 9,103 New Orleans children were not counted in the 1990 Census.
Children are more often undercounted than adults for several reasons:
1) Single parents have less time for completing forms.
2) Children may be in foster care or homeless.
3) Census forms only provide enough space for 6 household members, which means larger families cannot report all their children.
Why does the Census undercount matter to nonprofit organizations?
The 6.4 million or so people who were not counted by the Census are also the type of people who are often recipients of nonprofit services (1). This means that the undercount is of particular concern for nonprofit organizations in writing needs assessments for grants.
In a single year (1998) more than $180 billion dollars in federal grants was distributed to the states based on Census counts. These formula grants help pay for education, employment training, public health promotion, housing, substance abuse treatment and environmental cleanup among other things. The U.S. Census Monitoring Board estimated that 59,063 people in Louisiana were not counted in the 2000 Census. And they estimate that because of Louisiana’s undercount, our state will lose from $4 million to $6 million per year in federal funds. In the table below, you can see an estimate of the number of people not counted in the 5-parish area surrounding Orleans (2).
Net Undercount for 2000 Census by Parish
Parish
Undercount
Jefferson
6,023
Orleans
10,299
Plaquemines
266
St. Bernard
800
St. Tammany
1,662
5-parish area
19,050
Source: U.S. Census Monitoring Board
What is the Census doing about the undercount?
Since 1940, the Census Bureau has acknowledged that its counts have been low and that minorities are more often undercounted than whites. The Census Bureau has been working hard to remedy this situation. For example, in preparation for the 2000 Census, the Bureau launched a paid advertising campaign to encourage minorities to fill out the Census form, and to help them overcome their fears about the Census. The Census has succeeded in reducing the net amount by which it undercounts the population (undercount minus overcount) from 5.4% of the total population in 1940 down to about 1% in 2000 (5).
Why should nonprofits rely on Census data?
Funding agencies, particularly Federal ones, make their decisions based at least partly on what the Census data reveals about different neighborhoods and cities. Every time a nonprofit applies for a grant, they should consider including Census information in their proposal because this is information funders often rely on to make funding decisions.
Here are a couple of local examples of how Census data might be used:
Example in Algiers Point
For example, if you are writing a proposal to HUD for funds to rehab vacant houses in Algiers Point, then HUD would likely want to see data that compares the percent of housing units that are vacant in Algiers Point, with the percent of housing units that are vacant nationwide.
Housing in Algiers Point (2000)
Algiers Point
Orleans Parish
Louisiana
United States
Housing units
1,408
215,091
1,847,181
115,904,641
Vacant housing units (%)
19%
12%
10%
9%
Source: U.S. Census 2000
This data sends a powerful message that Algiers Point has a high rate of vacant houses compared to the national average.
Example in Central City
If you were writing a proposal to start a childcare program in Central City targeting single moms, you might present Census data like this:
Children Living with Mother Only in Central City (2000)
Central City
Orleans Parish
Louisiana
United States
Children living with mother only (%)
58.3%
39.2%
24.6%
18.5%
Source: U.S. Census 2000
This data points out that Central City has a very high percentage of children living with single mothers compared to the state and parish averages. It suggests that childcare funding for single moms should be directed toward neighborhoods like Central City.
Census History
At the forming of the U.S. Constitution, our leaders decided that a head-count of the population should be taken every ten years to determine how many members of Congress each state will get. At that time, everyone counted except for slaves who were counted as three-fifths of a person, and Indians who were not counted because they paid no taxes (5).
After the Civil War, the Constitution was amended so that all people would be counted (excluding Indians). In 1999, the Supreme Court ruled that statistical sampling could not be used to redistribute Congressional seats because it would be unconstitutional. And in October 2001, the Census Bureau announced that it would not release statistically adjusted census information as a basis for the federal government to disperse funds, because there were too many errors in the data (4).
However, many argue that statistical sampling would provide a better estimate of the minority populations that are consistently undercounted. This issue has been the source of much debate among U.S. government officials in recent years (4). And as recently as October 9, 2002, a federal appeals court ruled that the Census Bureau had to release its statistically adjusted counts (8).
If the Census isn’t accurate, wouldn’t funders rather see nonprofits gather their own data?
Funders typically don’t want nonprofits to collect their own data. There are several reasons for this:
Funders usually think data collected by nonprofits is less reliable than Census data. Why? Because it’s very difficult to gather data accurately. It’s hard to get people to respond to surveys at all, and even if you can get people to answer your survey, it’s hard to phrase questions so that people will provide the information you’re looking for.
Funders cannot compare data gathered by nonprofits to national data. Why? Because a nonprofit’s data collection method has to be exactly the same as the Census’ method or another national surveys’ method to make results comparable.
It’s expensive and time consuming to collect your own data. Funders would rather see nonprofits rely on data that already exists so nonprofits can put their energies toward doing what they do best, serving people.
Many folks in your target community may already feel like there has been too much research and not enough real change resulting from it. Being asked to respond to survey after survey magnifies this feeling in the community.
For these reasons and more, funders consider the Census to be one of the most trustworthy and appropriate sources for data to help them decide where their investment is most needed.
References:
(1) An Evaluation of the 2000 Census
http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/cmb/cmbp/reports/final_report/fin_sec3_evaluation.pdf
(requires Acrobat Reader)
This is from the U.S. Census’ Monitoring Board final report to Congress Sept 1, 2001.
(2 )Formula Grants: Affects of Adjusted Population Counts on Federal Funding to States
http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/cmb/cmbp/downloads/99feb1.html (requires Acrobat Reader)
This is the February 1999 U.S. General Accounting Office’s report on Formula Grants and the Effects of Adjusted Population Counts on Federal Funding to States. It refers primarily to adjusting the 1990 (not 2000) Census for the undercount.
(3) The Overlooked Undercount: Children Missed in the Decennial Census
http://www.aecf.org/kidscount/census.pdf (requires Acrobat Reader)
This report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation presents issues and trends, and provides detailed statistics, related to the children missed in the 1990 Census.
(4) Presidential Members Report: Implications for Minority Voters in 2001
http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/cmb/cmbp/reports/Lichtman/louisiana.asp.htm
The U.S. Census Monitoring Board’s report on the 1990 undercount and its demographic breakdown in Louisiana.
(5) Census History and 20th-Century Firsts
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/census2.html
This site provides an easy-to-read history of the Census.
(6) Two Papers on Undercount Adjustment
oz.berkeley.edu/~stark/Census/camel.pdf (requires Acrobat Reader)
“Straining Out Gnats & Swallowing Camels: the perils of adjusting for Census undercounts” and “Quantifying Measurement Error and Bias in the 1990 Undercount Estimates” are detailed and informative articles.
(7) CivilRights.org: A Social Justice Network
http://www.civilrights.org/issues/census/
This site provides a great deal of information about the amount of undercounting in each state as well as the importance of the Census, the importance of undercounting, and how statistical sampling might reduce the problems associated with undercounting.
(8) Appeals Panel Tells Census Bureau to Release Adjusted Figures
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/10/national/10CENS.html
A federal appeals court has ruled that the Census Bureau must release its statistically adjusted count for every state, county and neighborhood in the country, a decision that could affect how billions in government money is distributed.
Other Resources:
Census 2000 Undercount Could Cost States Billions
http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/cmb/cmbp/reports/080601.pricewaterhouse/default.asp.htm
The U.S. Census Monitoring Board’s report on the amount of federal grant money states will lose because of the 2000 Census undercount.
Census must release estimates of 2000 undercount
http://www.freep.com/news/census/census10_20021010.htm
A federal appeals court has ruled that the Census Bureau must release its internal estimates of how many people were missed when the U.S. population was counted in 2000 — a decision that could affect how billions of dollars in government money is distributed.
2000 Census Miss 1M Black, Latino Children
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-2226045,00.html
Black and Hispanic children, particularly those in urban areas, make up a disproportionately high percentage of the 1.1 million kids missed by the 2000 census, according to newly released government estimates.
Allison Plyer is a Senior Consultant with the Community Data Center.
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Last modified: February 19, 2003
Interesting. This information is from the 2000 census, and it estimates that approximately 1% of the population wasn’t counted. (“The Census has succeeded in reducing the net amount by which it undercounts the population (undercount minus overcount) from 5.4% of the total population in 1940 down to about 1% in 2000 (5).”) We are led to believe that the census taking methods vastly improved by 2010, but even if they haven’t, 1% of approximately 40,000 is still only 400 people. We aren’t talking about a huge discrepancy in NMB.
Do we trust these numbers? Do you really believe 40,000 people? That’s gotta be way off. Look at all the people who have PO Boxes because they have no home? Or the homeless? Or people that are here illegally. This is the State of DADE COUNTY.
I trust the numbers because we definitely have less people here than the 2000 census, which showed about 43,000. Of course, this doesn’t take into account illegals, but I think this is more of a problem down south where the migrant farm workers are than in NMB. Not to say we don’t have illegals, but just not that many. They obviously would steer clear of census takers. Even if the numbers are one or two thousand off (and I’m not sure what the range would be for + or – accuracy), we are certainly nowhere near the 60,000 Baker projected and was hoping for when he spent almost $200,000 to “do the census.” His goal was to get to the magical number of 50,000 to get federal money. Believe it or not, that’s what he based his budget on – phantom cash from the tooth fairy. He really compounded the fiscal problem we’re having now.
My neighbor called me today. She got a break and enter and will soon be leaving our city. I fixed her broken door.
The proactive patrolling or lack thereof, is most unbecoming. The so called detective that came to the scene, is an excuse for a detective. It would be interesting to have the records of how successful each detective in NMBPD added up in solving cases. They certainly did not solve mine and I do not expect much. We have 34 detectives as per last count. Huge 6 figure perks we pay for each and we get substandard work done.
GREED has taken over as an ENTITLEMENT DISEASE and many cities are paying through their noses for what they cannot afford to upkeep a police department mostly made up of salaries and pensions. They borrow what they cannot repay to fix a broken problem. The unions have made a killing while taxpayers slept. One story regurgitates itself 60 times to sensationalize the news and to justify illegitimate packages. Our soldiers who put their lives on the line, some come home in body bags, barely gets 10 seconds of news coverage.
Greed, greed, greed …..
North Miami will soon be filing for bankruptcy. They too are borrowing what the cannot repay in many life times to come.
“Spreading the truth”
Mr. Kazan you talk about repeating the same stories over and over yet here are the things that YOU Sir, repeat all the time:
– No police patrol south of 159 ST
– Soldiers getting paid and not complaining about it
– You constantly skew the amount officers get paid
– You’re the ONLY smart person in the City and you have all the answers.
Okay so let’s start with point 1 your claim that no police patrol south of 159 ST. I believe at the last council meeting when you were speaking and you claimed this (yet again; repeating) this that every officer in the audience raised their hands indicating they do patrol south of 159 ST. I would have thought you might take a hint and stop this lie but no, you keep going with it. It’s old; false and you should find new material. Besides ever time I drive by your house I don’t SEE you so does that mean you’re not home? If I don’t see you how can you expect to see me when I drive by?
Second point- the soldiers fighting oversees. Well let’s look at the military pay scale (http://www.militaryfactory.com/military_pay_scale.asp). Let’s just for grins and giggles assume I’m a captain at the PD and equivalent to a captain in the military. Let’s also assume I have over 20 years of service. My base monthly pay would be $7049.10 a month (not including combat pay). Now as a military member I get all the following free of charge to myself:
– Medical and dental for me and my family; dependents
– Free food
– Free housing
– Free electric, water and garbage pick up.
So if a captain at the PD makes around $106,000 (this is the salary for the captain; not the total cost of the employee so please don’t respond by saying the captain gets “paid $200000 salary please) gross per year then that means that PD captain makes approximately $8833 per month. So a PD captain is making about $1800 more than the military captain. So with the extra $1800 dollars the PD captain has to pay rent or mortgage, medical and dental co-pays and deductibles and groceries for his family, electric bills, water bills and garbage bills. Wow so for a measly $1800 more a month the PD captain has to somehow feed, house and clothe his family every month for $1800.
So let’s see, food is about $350 a month, electric/water/garbage about $100 month on average so that leaves about $1350 for rent. Hmm… I wonder what kind of hovel I could rent for $1350 a month? Yes I said hovel because that’s what I would live in based on your faulty logic.
Point three; you state there are 34 detectives. Yes correct and factual however, out of the 34 detectives only 3 or 4 are assigned to burglaries. The rest investigate other crimes like robbery, rape, murder, auto theft, etc. So here again you try to skew the facts to suit your own anti-police agenda.
I told you Mr. Kazan, every time you come on here with either your faulty logic or skewing of the truth I will call you out.
I hope you find peace brother; anger is not healthy.
Frank, thank you for your suppprt. I am a little confused about where we are geting 34 detectives? In the detective bureau we have 14. Wre have db units in other areas but they have different responsibilites.
Frank, I’m confused by your numbers. Where did you get the $1,800 from and what did you mean by “So with the extra $1800 dollars the PD captain has to pay rent or mortgage, medical and dental co-pays and deductibles and groceries for his family, electric bills, water bills and garbage bills. Wow so for a measly $1800 more a month the PD captain has to somehow feed, house and clothe his family every month for $1800.” I’m completely lost. Please ‘splain it for the blond.
One thing I do know is that groceries cost way more than $350.00 a month. I think we spend that a week! Have you seen the price of coffee???? The same can of Maxwell House that I used to pay $6 or $7 dollars for is now $15.99!!! Also, in the summer our electric bill is over $300 a month, so if you can get by with only $100 for electric/water/sewer I’m impressed! Our water/trash bill alone is about $360.00 a quarter. The cost of everything has gone through the roof.
The 1800 dollars is the difference in pay between a military captain and a captain at the PD. Military captain makes $7049 per month; a PD captain makes $8833 per month. The difference being about 1800 dollars (rounded off for arguments sake). Which was my whole point with Kazan (yet again) dragging up the military and their pay and sacrifice compared to the PD. My point was that the military captain gets free medical, housing, electric, food, etc. Yet the PD captain only makes 1800 more than the military captain and has to pay for everything!! I hope that explains it.
34 detectives is counting all of DB, CST, Street Crimes/Gangs, VIN, Task Forces. Which goes to my other point that the PD might have 34 total detectives but only 2-3 maybe 4 are assigned to burglary investigations.
I hope that explains that.
Yes, now I understand what you meant. I’m not as sharp as I used to be. Thanks for explaining it.
Steph
Son,
Enough with the patrolling, we don’t patrol NE 12 Ave, you know that, we know that.
Your helping your neighbor, thats great! Thats what good neighbors should do.
You don’t pay taxes, you live with your mommy. Kenziel has every right to have her voice heard, she’s a tax payer, your not.
“The so called detective that came to the scene, is an excuse for a detective”
Do you personally know the detective? Have you looked at what they’ve done throughout their career helping the citizens of NMB? Probably not, just more useful misinformation and hate that we’ve come to expect from you.
34 Detective, maybe? Do you know what those dectives are assigned to? Probably not, your just use to providing misguided information.
Have a great day 🙂
Many private unions facing layoffs create voluntary programs for saving money to save jobs. The union takes the lead and approaches management with their proposal – “if we can put together a package of voluntary actions valued at X dollars in budget savings, will management guarantee X over a set period?
Examples of volunteer categories:
1. Unpaid vacation – volunteers sign up to take a a week or more of time off
2. Job sharing – where possible employees doing the same job volunteer to split one position for a period of time (work half time)
3. Military leave – ask reservists to consider taking a year off for military service
4. Early retirement – the union suggests an incentive package to management such as credit for an extra year of service showing the long term savings on pay & benefits.
5. Reduced work hours – employees volunteer to work X fewer hours during low demand periods.
Once a workable list of budget saving ideas is made with values attached for each volunteer unit in each category, the union approaches the members with the following: “if we can get enough pledges by enough members by the sign-up deadline, we can prevent layoffs during the term of the program. If we do not get enough volunteers, layoffs & terminations will follow. The future welfare of the collective brotherhood resides with the members.”
Desperate times call for unity which sometimes means shared sacrifice. Union leadership in recognizing when unity means shared sacrifice Instead of playing no compromise hardball.
The City should offer the police union the opportunity to reduce their budget by X through voluntary salary reductions via the various categories.
Hank, it sounds like you have some great ideas. I wonder if the police department would be receptive to any of them. Did you ever present this to the manager or the police chief? Maybe you could offer it as a suggestion and see if they would consider adopting this method. Desperate times indeed call for desperate measures. Thanks!
We feel your pain. Do you have a crime Watch in your area. I know in my area, I watch my neighbors home and I never see the police. Do you see your mailman every day? If you work then the answer should be no. You still get your mail. Maybe we should mention that our detectives just solved several robbers who were very active in “Mayberry” aka NMB. In addition two violent armed robbers were caugh by an NMB Sergeant. If you want proof come to the PD and get copies of the reports. It’s all public record. While we are on that subject, please provide facts instead of “ghost stories”. This is not TV, we don not always catch the bad guys. A lot of cases go cold and have no leads. Don’t judge people if you have not walked in their shoes. Our DB has some of the most respected detectives in Dade County. Ask anyone who matters. Again we have 14 detectives that have a tremendous case load. Don’t make comments if you can’t prove them. The reason that they make the money they do is because they work up to 70 hours a week and they are called out at all hours of the night. Please stop your threats and speak facts. You are doing tearing down this cities reputation and all that we have worked and trained for. I invite you to look at what other officers make in other cities around us. Don’t compare us to Coral Springs. You will see that we are below most agencies. Pull the facts sir. A lot of what you have stated is false. Please I invite you pick up an application, become a reserve officer and help patrol the neighborhood. We feel your pain, we are human as you are. Even in “Mayberry” they have burglaries. The only episodes that closely relate to NMB are episodes 69 and 70. Google them.
“Don’t spreading the poision”
Florida State Road 826
State Road 826
Palmetto Expressway
Route information
Maintained by FDOT
Length: 29.938 mi[1][2] (48.181 km)
24.71 miles (39.77 km) expressway section
Existed: June 1961 (freeway) – present
Major junctions
South end: US 1 / SR 5 in Pinecrest
SR 874 near Kendall
SR 836 near Doral
I-75 / SR 93 / SR 924 in Hialeah
I-95 / SR 9 / SR 9A in Miami Gardens
Turnpike / SR 91 in Miami Gardens
US 441 / SR 7 in Miami Gardens
US 1 / SR 5 in North Miami Beach
North end: SR A1A in Sunny Isles Beach
Location
Counties: Miami-Dade
Highway system
Florida State and County Roads
Interstate • US • SR (Pre-1945) • Toll • County
← SR 825 SR 827 →
NE 163 street has been documentef as the Top two traveled roads in Miami Dade. How many people travel through NMB everyday??? 100,000????
Enough to make me avoid driving that street as much as humanly possible.
State Road 826, also known as the Palmetto Expressway, is a bypass route around the greater Miami area, extending 24.7 miles (39.8 km) from U.S. Route 1 (SR 5) in Pinecrest, going through the inner Miami suburbs in a north-east semicircle to the Golden Glades Interchange, reverting to a surface street (Northeast 163rd Street) to its terminus at Florida State Road A1A in North Miami Beach. Interstate 95 (SR 9 and 9A) and the Palmetto Expressway are the two most-heavily traveled roads in Miami-Dade County.[citation needed]
We did some estimates and each cop has to take 35% cuts in his salaries and 55% cuts in his pensions. This is what NMB can afford. Otherwise we will go the route of advertising for the positions while laying off what the city cannot afford.
Oh pleeeeeezz….Good luck with that..
In all honesty, I would not expect anyone to take a 35% cut in salary and still survive. Not willingly, anyway. If my boss asked me to take such a cut, I’d be the first to look for another job. Of course, I’d stay and suck it up until I could find another one.
The real question, though, is how much the city can afford to pay to keep our own police department. If the city only has X number of dollars for the department, then the department needs to figure out how to maintain itself for those X number of dollars. People are not looking at this mathematically. The thing I would like the police department to figure out is how other departments are able to operate on a smaller percentage of those cities’ budgets. As far as I can tell, our police department’s share of 52% is a far bigger percentage than pretty much every other police department in South Florida. Some of the others have also been able to run their departments on less dollars per employee and still maintain a quality service. Maybe the chief or whoever is in charge of this can do some research and talk to other departments to try to get some fresh ideas. That’s all I’m saying.