|
|
Trooper Pay
Raise Could Negatively Impact Local Police And Sheriff's Departments Elmore County Sheriff's Deputy Travis Hough may truly be among
the few and the proud. The few deputies who won't give in to the lure of more
money as a state trooper, and proud to say he intends to retire from the Elmore
County Sheriff's Department. That kind of dedication even though he could
drive up his pay by $6,000 by becoming a state trooper this summer. "If money is what you want and you gotta
have it, that's fine. I like where I'm at," said Hough. With the stroke of a pen, Governor Bob Riley signed the trooper
pay raise into law, giving troopers a raise ranging from 5 to 10%, pushing
the starting salary to more than $30,000 a year. "This will make Alabama the 5th highest in 14 southern
states," Governor Riley said on Tuesday. Montgomery Police Chief Art Baylor doesn't expect the trooper
pay raise to affect his force because the starting pay is already
thirty-thousand plus but Baylor remembers when it did. "We had people leave to become state troopers and we still
have some," Baylor said. But not as many. On the other hand, the trooper raise could, in
fact, have the opposite affect; give local sheriffs and chiefs the ammunition
they need to get something for their department. "We go to the county commission and say 'hey, these other
people are getting passes again," Elmore County Sheriff Bill Franklin
said. But sometimes money isn't everything. A state trooper, for
example, is often reassigned to different posts throughout the state not so
for police officers and deputies. "You do get promoted and would be expected to live where
you're assigned," said trooper Donald Frazier. "I'm from Elmore County," said Hough. Deputy Travis Hough could earn more money for sure, but he says
there's something about being in the driver's seat in his home county. And speaking of pay raises, Chief Baylor says he's working on a
deal to increase the pay in general for his police force but it'll be up to
Montgomery Mayor Bobby Bright. No word yet when and if that might happen. Sheriff Franklin, meantime, says they typically get a yearly
raise of two-and-a-half percent. Troopers get their raises beginning June 1. Jailers union
likes counteroffer From the Express-News, March 9, 2006 Deputies and Bexar County negotiators now are on the same page
in collective bargaining talks, both sides said Wednesday, although they
still have some philosophical differences. The county presented a market study for its $25.4 million,
three-year counteroffer to the Deputy Sheriffs Association of Bexar County,
and the union's representatives were receptive. "The committee feels that is a very fair number," said
Mike Reimherr, the union's financial consultant.
"When you add our numbers up, it comes very close to their
numbers." That wasn't the same conclusion reached by county staff members
in January when they crunched the union's initial proposal, coming up with a
three-year cost of $176 million. Reimherr said he
wasn't aware of that calculation. "I just think somebody made a mistake there Obviously, we
wouldn't have agreed to $25 (million) if $176 (million) was our number,"
he said. The union negotiators said they would accept the $25.4 million
cap, working out the details later, in return for an immediate 3.5 percent
cost-of-living raise. Because of collective
bargaining, deputies did not get that raise at the beginning of the county's
fiscal year. The county is considering that, said Lowell Denton, the county's
negotiating lawyer. It is in the county's interest to pay deputies a fair market
rate to reduce turnover, he said, and in that sense the county's
and the union's interests coincide. Denton said the county is focused on the gap between Bexar
deputies and those in 10 other large urban Texas markets. But the union, which has mostly detention officer members, wants
to close a different gap — the one between jailers and law enforcement
deputies. Reimherr said better
pay for jailers would help resolve the county's problem of maintaining a
proper guard-to-inmate ratio. The county will consider that, Denton said, but he sees it as a
fundamental difference. "If their goal is that we pay Bexar County detention
officers more than everybody else (in the) market," he said, "then
I think that's going to be a hard sell." Future of negotiations between Lady Lake, police union in limbo From the DAILY SUN, March 16, 2006 LADY LAKE — It’s unclear whether a deadlock in contract
negotiations between the town and the union representing its police officers will
mean the end of the Lady Lake Police Department. “I’ve heard from several rank and file
who are concerned about their jobs,” Noeske said. Noeske said it
appears that Vance’s long-range intent is to abolish the Lady Lake Police
Department. Board, union OK contract The Board of Selectmen voted unanimously
Monday night to approve a new three-year contract with the association. The
new contract is in effect through June 30, 2008. The association's previous contract
expired June 30, 2005. "We had pleasant
negotiations," said Lincoln Police Chief Kevin Mooney. "I think
they, as usual, come into the union with the idea that it's a
compromise." After the meeting, union President
Detective John Wentworth said the new contract contains more streamlined
language to reflect current laws and labor laws. The contract also eliminated
previous ambiguities in its language. It specifies the responsibilities of
officers assigned to the Northeast Metropolitan Law Enforcement Council, also
known as NEMLEC. The contract provides for a 3 percent
salary increase in fiscal 2006, and a 2 1/2 percent
increase for fiscal 2007 and fiscal 2008. It allows for stipends to
acknowledge officers who complete and keep up certain certifications, and
includes language regarding defibrillators, which will soon be placed in each
police cruiser. Mooney said the contract also ties up
loose language for the probationary period for new police officers. "It was an overall streamlining
and reorganizing of the contract," Wentworth said. Mooney said negotiations went
smoothly, to the credit of Wentworth and Vice President Officer Dave Regan,
as well as Lt. Kevin Kennedy and Sgt. Sean Kennedy, who were also involved in
the negotiations. "I think it's been a lot of work
on their part and I think it's to their credit," Mooney said. "We just want to thank you very
much for working with us," said Selectman Gary Taylor. Wentworth said Town Administrator Tim
Higgins and Assistant Town Administrator Anita Scheipers
have a difficult task when it comes to balancing the union's needs and those
of the town. He said both were true professionals throughout the process. "It came through rather seamless
and it didn't take a long time to get it done," Wentworth said. Selectman Sara Mattes said she was
happy to see collaborative teamwork take place. "It makes me personally very
proud," she said. |
||||||||||||||||
|
|
Copyright ã POLICEPAY.NET,
Inc. 2006 All Rights Reserved |
||||||||||||||||
The POLICEPAY Journal
Published
by:
POLICEPAY.NET,
Inc.
Oklahoma
City, OK 73102
(405)
234-2235