LEO Rant

[Gary D.]

Over the past 29 years that I have been with this department I have seen the County Commissioners do some really stupid things. But what they just pulled has caused 1/3 of the department to submit letters to leave and go elsewhere.

During the past couple of years they have spent roughly $180,000.00 on two wage studies. They can’t figure out why we can’t keep people once they are trained. They don’t feel that our wages continuing to slip backwards in the market has anything to do with it.

I can leave this department and go to the city and make $6.00 an hour more to start on a lateral transfer. Or I could cross the state line and get $8.00 more. So the plan was for the Commissioners to get us within 80% of the other agencies which would make us happy.

Two weeks ago they said we would be “Pleasantly Surprised” with the raises we were going to get. We just got our letters showing our raises. They FUBARED it so bad the majority of the department is ready to walk. Only one group has not expressed a wish to leave and that group is the Dive Team. We aren’t happy but we aren’t leaving. We all realize we are needed and won’t let some BS pay issues interfere with those duties.

What the Commissioners did bring everyone with 4 years of service to “Mid Point” on the new pay scale. Not bad but there is no way to advance from there. So, a 4-year Deputy makes the same as a 30-year Deputy. Then there is another corker. If you test for and make Sergeant and you’re a “Mid Point” Deputy you are now an “Entry Level” Sergeant with a pay reduction of $1.70 an hour.

We thought they just goofed on that one but they didn’t. Somehow they are saying that it is not only a position change, but after a whole bunch of legal BS your going to a lesser paying title and it is legal.

We have one Sergeant with a 4-year degree, a masters in criminal justice, his multi engine pilots license, LEO masters certificate and 23 years of service and an ex-team member. This qualifies him for “Mid Point”. Excuse me, comparing him to a HS Grad means nothing, they are equal. Education has just been reduced to why waist your time and money. They have even eliminated the Certificate pay, which meant an extra buck an hour per POST Certificate and there are 4 of them.

So the question was brought up if a Deputy got a Doctorate in Law Enforcement or Criminal Justice, would that move them above “Mid Point”? The answer, No! Getting a Doctor Deputy would just be a waist of time.

On the bright side we keep our special duty pay for the FTO, K-9, SRU and Dive Team. But don’t plan on retiring on the additional $.50 an hour.

Is this temporary? Nope, this is the end of the pay raise issue until at least October 2006.

Done ranting, Now we need some dives for the OT to make our own raise.

Gurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

On a diving issue we are going to change all our Viking inflator valves to match our other suits so we don't have to keep changing hoses.

Gary D.

 

[BigJetDriver]

Gary,

You are just now finding out how evil a bunch of political hacks called County Commissioners can be? You've been lucky until now, if that's the case.

Rob

 

[pipedope]

I think you need to back away from the "We are needed" stuff (even though it is true) and walk.

If enough people walk out then it will get their attention.

If enough people let it continue, then it will be that way forever.

 

[Diversauras]

Are you sure you don't work for "F" Troop?

 

[redrover]

Gee, that sounds like a really low blow. I certainly don’t know anything about the issues but I’ve seen something like that (sorta maybe). The rationale was noobs are cheaper than experience. How they figured they were going to function without that experience was beyond me. What does the public that expect someone like you to solve their crisis think?

 

[DennisW]

Gary,

It sounds to me like the County Commissioners need to be taught a lesson in economics. I think I agree with Michael.

Keep up the good work there my friend, where ever you may be working.

 

[Gary D.]

At times I think the Commissioners are the officers of “F-Troop”.

I’m over my retirement points so this won’t be no where’s near as big a problem for me as the younger folks. Besides we, or at least some of us, didn’t get into this business for the huge amounts of money we could make. It is just the way those lying SOB’s went about it. They told was we were getting a big raise then back doored everyone.

We just found out, that on the wage studies they compared us to some real off the wall stuff. Dispatch was compared to telemarketers. Part of ours was compared to security guards and small one and two person departments from way out of the area.

Walking, I can’t do it, not over a wage dispute. I took an oath to protect and serve people and that’s what I’m going to do until I just can’t anymore. BUT if one of the commissioners were drowning it would be tempting to shove instead of pull (never happen).

Who is going to apply to a department that has a 4 year cap on salaries and that's it? Or get a promotion that reduces your salary for at least three years?

Gary D.

 

[TheAvatar]

Gary, if you won't quit you can still raise hell. Use those nasty reporters for a good cause for once.

 

[Gary D.]

My shift has already sent her a very large bouquet of flowers and a Thank You note. This woman has some You Know's.

Link:
http://www.cdapress.com/articles/2005/06/15/news/news02.txt

Aarticle:
Defender kisses off commissioners
Posted: Wednesday, Jun 15, 2005 - 08:10:23 am PDT
By MARC STEWART
Staff writer





Attorney suspended for protesting county's pay-raise mistake

COEUR d'ALENE -- Linda Payne asked county commissioners to bend over and pucker up.

Her reward -- a week off without pay.

An attorney in the Public Defender's Office, Payne hand-delivered a greeting card, a jar of Vaseline and red lipstick to the Kootenai County Commission after inaccurate notices of pay raises were sent out last week.


"I am not apologizing," she said. "I was incensed with how they treated us and then when I was told I had to apologize, I refused to do that."

Payne, a deputy public defender, is appealing her suspension and is considering legal action.

"It depends on what happens next," Payne said. "I was exercising my right of free speech to my elected officials."

Gus Johnson, chair of the county commission, confirmed that Payne had been suspended for a week without pay.

"She showed some unprofessional attitude toward the situation at hand, and her immediate supervisor took corrective action to make sure that it won't happen again," Johnson said.

The letter Payne wrote includes, "The next time you choose to give us something, please lubricate and/or kiss first."

Payne said she acted after the county sent out inaccurate notices about pay raises to county employees in the prosecutor's and public defender's offices in a letter dated June 8. The county sent out a corrected version of those letters the next day.

Payne, whose current annual salary is $45,497, thought she was going to receive about a $10,000 raise. Instead she got about a $5,000 pay increase. Payne has worked in the office since 2002.

"Yes, part of this is the money," she said. "But it's also the way they handled it."

Johnson and Commisioner Rick Currie declined to comment on the letter, the Vaseline, or the lipstick.

Public Defender John Adams wrote a letter to Payne explaining why she was being suspended. It said, "As I told you, this suspension is in response to the inappropriate and unprofessional manner in which you expressed your displeasure to the Board of County Commissioners over the pay adjustment issue last week."

Adams also wrote that Payne would be required to attend an appropriate training session relative to her conduct.

Johnson said the county's human resources department made the error that enraged Payne, and that it was an honest mistake.

"They didn't get the right calculation that commissioners approved," Johnson said. "They gave out a preliminary number rather than a final number. It was a human error and it happens. Once we found it, we fixed it."

Payne, however, believes something else is going on. She provided a document that shows final salary recommendations for attorneys that matches the first notice about pay raises. The authenticity of that document couldn't be verified, but Payne claims it was produced about a month ago by the county's human resources department.

"Something stinks in Denmark," she said. "I don't understand where the money went. They've never explained it."

She believes she could be fired for going public with her complaints and is prepared to fight if that happens.

Payne claims that when Commissioner Rick Currie told her boss that attorneys in his office would receive less money than originally anticipated and Adams asked why, Currie said, "It was a mistake and (stuff) happens."

Adams couldn't be reached for comment. Currie declined to comment about the alleged remark or Payne's conduct.

The alleged profanity angered Payne.

"It's years of disrespect from the commissioners," Payne said.

She said tension between the commissioners and its attorneys over salaries is nothing new. Payne said about two years ago the commissioners wanted to meet with Prosecutor Bill Douglas and Adams about salary increases. When Douglas and Adams invited Payne and other attorneys in their offices to join them, the commissioners were livid.

"They called Bill Douglas and John Adams 'chicken...' for bringing the attorneys to that meeting. They said a trained monkey could do our job. Mysteriously the tape of that public meeting doesn't exist."

Payne said salary differences between county attorneys is a big problem.

"It's these unfair inequities that can't be explained," she said. "As one commissioner said at a meeting, 'Some attorneys are more equal than others.'"

Payne also believes that the commissioners threatened to fire Adams if he didn't punish her severely.

"When they got my letter they were screaming and really pissed off," Payne said. "They told John that he must take appropriate action or they would find somebody else to throw the book at me."

Currie denies that accusation and declined to disclose any details about the conversation he had with Adams about Payne's actions.

 

[Johnoly]

Just read that in the news about the attorney. She's got some stones!!