Wicomico County Executive Richard M. Pollitt, Jr., had the following comment of the subject filing.
“The filing of this petition by the Fraternal Order of Police is a legal action against the Wicomico County government as a whole. As the Executive of the government, I have been named by the F.O.P. as a defendant along with the County Council. Despite the philosophical differences between the County Council and me throughout the legislative process, I now have a larger responsibility to uphold the Charter and the laws of Wicomico County. I intend to do this without partiality or prejudice as required by my oath of office. I am confident our court system will resolve this matter in a fair and equitable fashion.”
Mr. Pollitt has no further comment on this matter till further notice.
38 comments:
KICK The F.O.P's ass, Pollitt may not be your favorate person, but you better back him now. FOP = TAX INCREASE big time.
OR, consider what amount of money it takes to get and keep good police officers in a troubled city and county such as this...and pay it. It is certainly cheaper to prevent and deter crime than keep criminals in jail after they're convicted.
Sorry, but there's a tax cap! let's give the cops some of the windfall from busting the thieves at the landfill.
Anonymous said...
KICK The F.O.P's ass, Pollitt may not be your favorate person, but you better back him now. FOP = TAX INCREASE big time.
5:46 PM
Whether you like it or not, the voters supported the FOP.
WCSO deputies risk their lives for the citizens of this county, they deserve a hard-earned retirement. Or at least a voice to even discuss it. They are YOUR protection folks.
Another example of gov't having no regard for what the voters/taxpayers say. No wonder we're frustrated.
I am a Republican and I don't care for unions, but I believe in the will of the people. We have a democracy in this country and the citizens of Wicomico County overwhelmingly voted for the FOP's proposition. If you don't like it then vote next time!!
Then if WE citisens voted for it, why the hell isnt the ADMIN doing it??? Hence the law suit!!
hip.boots
The voters spoke. The county council failed to listen. I am not for higher taxes, but the cost of crime is greater. I for one sleep better at night knowing that a compentent well trained force is in the county. We have found out repeatedly that to attract and retain the above par officers that we have, we have to pay them. If they do not get the pay they deserve, officers will leave. The officers that leave have to be replaced and trained. Along with the Sherriffs office don't forget the unseen heroes of of law emforcement, correctional officers. They are the ones that have to care for the criminals each and everyday. Their lives are in danger everyday just as the police. More correctional officers are injured, maimed, or worse, killed every year in this country May God protect each and everyone.
whoever said FOP=TAX INCREASE doesnt know his butt from a piece of bologne. Ocean City police have a fop union and they got a raise a couple years back and i know for a fact that they didnt raise taxes down there. That has nothing to do with it. You need to pay these guys. I can tell you that im a teacher and i work with these guys and they all deserve to be able to earn a honest living. Lets keep in mind that Salisbury is a threat in itself for us all to drive through, so what do you think these guys go through on a nightly basis when they are out there trying to protect you, me, your neighbors, your kids, my kids.....etc, do i need to continue. VOTE FOR THE SHERIFFS AND GOD BLESS THEM ALL.
I didn't vote for the bargaining rights for the deputies because I did not think it was fair for only the deputies to have bargaining rights....what about other county employees?
I voted last time, and I voted against them. If they don't like their wages, they can always get a job doing something else.
The FOP will not win!! The Police cannot have a union like you think. Our taxes will go up and the police make enough money as it is. Wonder what Mike Lewis thinks of this one??
I can understand them wanting better disability, however, their pay is plenty good enough. Do you know that there are many other jobs at Wicomico County that are far more dangerous according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics. There arent many deputies laving now that they have the pay parity. They chose the profession. I dont see how you can offer some county employees one package of benefits and the rest another. It was my understanding that this whole union thing was about better disability and retirement, not pay.
As for the teacher who commented, the teachers are worse than the sheriffs as far as pay goes. They work 9 months of the year and according to the daily times, in this area make more than the state average. They ask for more money for education, but what it boils down to is more money for their pockets. Now they want more heath insurance paid by the county after retirement. They already only pay half as much as regular county employees during their years of employment. Now they want 85% paid. Give me a break. When is enough enough? They dont event have to pay into retirement. The rest of the regular county employees have a mandatory retirement they have to pay into. It is not suprising a teacher sticking up for the sheriffs, those two groups have got themselves segregated away from the rest of the employees and get the bulk of the budget while the rest get the scraps. THAT is a fact.
co3153 said...
"I for one sleep better at night knowing that a compentent well trained force is in the county."
You must be sleeping at the local Ihop.
Anonymous said...
I didn't vote for the bargaining rights for the deputies because I did not think it was fair for only the deputies to have bargaining rights....what about other county employees?
7:50 PM
The other county employees can fight for their bargaining rights as well.... DUH!! You must be a county employee.
Anonymous said...
>>>>Do you know that there are many other jobs at Wicomico County that are far more dangerous according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics.>>>
9:45 PM
Oh please tell us what those more dangerous jobs are and please cite the source so that we can check it out ourselves.
well, guess what? we've struggled to pay ALL of our own retirement & health insurance. with below scale wages so commonly proffered here on the shore.
how about telling mackes where the sun don't shine is a good place to build his new park. then the money for that park can go into a fund held & specifically designed for their retirement. the officers can pay an equal portion of salaries into that fund on a regular basis, thereby increasing the fund CONSTANTLY.
to my mind the officers get a great wage considering the mean, locally.
we were always threatened by those in administration to go elsewhere if we didn't like the setup which offered NO retirement & very little in support of health care. a modest cut in rates for "group" policy which costs almost as much as it costs today. for PROFESSIONALS, required licensing & registration.
the county can & should look elsewhere for this NECESSARY funding. but to my mind this is all a precursor to LIFTING the revenue cap which in my opinion is also necessary. how else can we force our local government to CURB SPENDING?
ANON 10:06
Apparently you're an "underpaid" county employee, and believe that teachers are already overpaid.
These dedicated individuals do the MOST IMPORTANT work of our society, and should be compensated as such. If you're not happy with your compensation package at the county, may I suggest you find something more lucrative in the private sector. Or, you could go back to school yourself and become an overpaid teacher.
To 10:06
You are alright with that. Remember that 10% bonus for three years for saying when there retiring from the Board of Ed? Well, somebody should ask what the Bd. did this year to plan for those leaving in 2010 that was worth thousands of dollars paid to those employees this year. They did nothing which is just what they did for the first year Mr. Fields was the temporary superintendant. They might of tried to find replacements for those leaving at the end of this year, so why not just give a fixed amount to those saying one year before they retire. This three year, 10% of your salary business is a waste. Only one of the assistant supts is leaving but two got the bonus. Nice to have the loophole about being asked back so some can keep the money for retiring but not retire as if they ever intended to retire in the frist place. Word is he got a good package for staying next year, but the Bennett projects won't be done then either. This is not the NFL and tax money should not be used to give people big bonuses and benefits beyond what is public information. How is this legal??
7:49 YOU don't know what your talking about, simply research the FACTS, the OCPD budget has gone through the roof after the contract. I could only hope you could put your money where your mouth is, I will.
The stronger the FOP’s position, the stronger of a police force we have. The stronger of a police force we have the safer our communities are. Thank you Joe for reporting this news and bringing to the public attention what THEIR elected officials are doing.
DP
Anon 7:49
Not to be rude to you, but if you're a teacher your spelling is horrible. Maybe these things aren't important in the grand scheme, but if I'm going to consider a remark from someone who claims to be a teacher, I'd like to see it showing good grammar, spelling and punctuation.
I do agree with your sentiment, though.
Nurses & teachers should be the highest paid. everyone else, get in line, including & especially doctors & lawyers. Policemen should be above them also
11:24 PM DUH, no I am not a county employee but I do believe in parity across the board to all employees, not just a special group!
Do your homework, learn to speak & write the English language, make arrests that stick without bad evidence handling, be thorough, be willing to go to court, and everything else that makes a good cop. Otherwise the illegals will take over your jobs like they've done to the firefighters in Colorado. They are firing chiefs because the volunteers are all Hispanic & the fire bosses don't speak their language.
Even with all this bickering all I see is ANOTHER fat ass behind a podium in Salisbury/Wicomico County. Fat, greedy and stupid is no way to run a municipality.
Congratulations Charlie Bounds, Assist. Supt. on the extra $ 10,000. to retire and then plan to stay another year. I'm sure your conscience will compel you to return that money as the kids are being short-changed now. The salaries for teachers were unbelievable that were printed in the paper.
9:03 PM --they complain that the kids don't have enough books for this and that because some salaries are out of control just like the company CEO's. If the educators were truly interested in helping children during these poor economic times, they would accept less money and thus provide more supplies and materials for instruction. Being a teacher is no lomger a calling. People are in teaching for the money and they want more planning time, more insurance paid and anything else tht is available. They want duty free lunch,assistants to do work they used to do and don't want to do any more.Don't want playgroung duty, want restrictions on length of faculty meetings where they might learn something,etc. Oh well ,life goes on.I saw a lot of changes in my 41 years and not all for the betterment of children.
The Salisbury Police suck. They simply suck. It is just that simple. They suck, they suck, they suck. We have a terrible police force. They wait for the criminals to leave and then they show up to take a report. When you give them evidence they lose it. They refused to prosecute gasoline theft for example, and now Wawa makes all of us prepay for gasoline. It is like we are all criminals. Since the police couldn't / wouldn't catch the criminals, Wawa now treats all of us as criminals. Its not Wawa's fault. They had no choice. There were cases where we had video of people stealing gas and the police lost the video before the trial. When we call the police for fights and drug dealing, they wait until everything is calm then come in to take reports. They're a bunch of young shaved head punks. The are wanna be deputies. Everyone knows that. They suck.
2:15 AM has nailed it. Why is that Bd of Ed bonus program a percent of salary instead of a flat amount? Who makes the biggest salaries? Why is there a loophole about keeping the money if you are asked back? Why is the Bd. continuing to pay a retirement bonus this year to someone not retiring? I'm sure they'll say it's in his contract but saying he was retiring at the end of this year is the only reason he got the bonus in the first place. Mr. Field could have signed up for the bonus, knowing the Bd. would ask him back to help the new super. He did the honorable thing and did not pretend to be retiring. Mr. Brown took the bonus for retiring and is in fact retiring. There is only one who took advantage of the system. Again, the Bd. is playing fast and loose with tax money.
To 2:15 A.M.=
Conscience is what Mr. Field had. Don't you think he could have gotten a huge bonus to say he was retiring after this year, knowing he would be asked back to help the new superintendent? He is a man of God and wouldn't do such a thing. Taking advantage of a system he helped create would be a sin in his eyes. His bonus would have been almost $14,000 and he still didn't act like he was retiring to get the bonus money. All of us admire Mr. Brown who took the bonus because he is honestly ready for a well earned retirement. He was honorable too. Whether you approve of keeping the bonus and not retiring or you don't approve of it, someone is going to get away with manipulating the program. It reminds lots of us of insider trading so maybe Mrs. Holloway and other business people on the Board will correct this.
ANON 11:29 PM
said Oh please tell us what those more dangerous jobs are and please cite the source so that we can check it out ourselves.
The 10 most dangerous jobs
Occupation Fatalities per 100,000
Timber cutters 117.8
Fishers 71.1
Pilots and navigators 69.8
Structural metal workers 58.2
Drivers-sales workers 37.9
Roofers 37
Electrical power installers 32.5
Farm occupations 28
Construction laborers 27.7
Truck drivers 25
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics; survey of occupations with minimum 30 fatalities and 45,000 workers in 2002
On-the-job killers
Type of incident 2002 deaths
Aircraft accidents 192
Caught in running equipment 110
Drowning 60
Electrocution 289
Exposure to substances 98
Falls from ladder 126
Falls from roof 143
Fires/explosions 165
Highway collisions 635
Assaults/violence 840
Jackknifed or overturned truck 312
Overturned farm/industrial equipment 164
Struck by falling/flying object 506
Struck by vehicle 356
Looks like the police didnt even make the list. Sounds to me like the guys at the Roads Division, and Landfill have more dangerous jobs. Truck drivers, construction laborers, in and around moving traffic all day, (not parked in a parking lot, dunkin doughnuts)
And that is fatality rates, as far as injury rates, they are even lower on the list. Sorry guys
7:55 AM said
Apparently you're an "underpaid" county employee, and believe that teachers are already overpaid.
These dedicated individuals do the MOST IMPORTANT work of our society, and should be compensated as such. If you're not happy with your compensation package at the county, may I suggest you find something more lucrative in the private sector. Or, you could go back to school yourself and become an overpaid teacher.
If you read my comment, I am not complaining about my wage or benefits, only my dislike in seeing the teachers gouging the county and trying to suck as much out as they can. It is wrong to cry "it is for the children" when really it is for the teachers. Dont you teach your childrent to pay attention to what they read? Maybe you should.
2006 2007 - Line of Duty Deaths for Police Officers
The following is only of deaths. This does not include serious, disabling injuries, etc.
Traffic-related
Automobile Crashes 45 60
Struck (outside vehicle) 16 14
Motorcycle/Bike Crashes 13 9
Subtotal: 74 83Shot 54 68
Handgun 47
Rifle 11
Shotgun 8
Unknown 2
TOTAL 68
Domestic disturbance call 12
Traffic stop or pursuit 12
Investigating suspicious persons/circumstances 8
Attempting other arrest (excl. robbery, burglary) 7
Robbery-related 6
Ambush 5
Disturbance call (non-domestic) 4
Accidental 3
Drug-related 3
Handling/transporting prisoners 3
Burglary-related 2
Investigative activity 2
Handling mentally deranged persons 1
Other
Physical-related Incident 17 13
Terrorist Attacks 1 5
Drowned 0 4
Aircraft Accidents 3 3
Officer Fell to His/Her Death 0 3
Struck by Falling Object 0 1
Boating Accident 0 1
Beating 1 0
Stabbing 1 0
Subtotal: 23 30
TOTAL 151 vs. 181 line of duty deaths 2006/2007
Source: http://www.nleomf.com/TheMemorial/Facts/2007_EndofYear.pdf
Yeah right.... Wawa is a opoor victim. Sorry but when I had an SPD officer show up at my house ready to arrest me for gas theft, guess what? I still had my credit card receipt showing I paid Thank god I didn't throw it out. And you know what else.....I was told it happens alot. Wawa employess report the wrong people stealing all the time. I have no remorse for Wawa. And as for prepaying... don't be lazy. Its called walking or swipe your bank card.
Jim
You all are missing some points, collective bargaining (being allowed to come together and ask for what we need) binding arbitration (in the rare situation that a disagreement happens, a nuetral party decides what is fair). So you see the process that is being asked for is that of a fair decision, not the stonewalling that has happened in the past.
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