BROWARD COUNTY PBA DAILY CLIPS

Transcription

1 BROWARD COUNTY PBA DAILY CLIPS April 18, 2017

2 MEDIA OUTLET: Sun Sentinel HEADLINE: Senate panel delays bills on decriminalizing marijuana and restoring felon voting rights BYLINE: Dan Sweeney LINK: STORY: Democrats in the Florida Senate got a brief opportunity to tackle two items that have for years been a goal for much of their party decriminalizing marijuana and restoring the voting rights of exfelons. But the Senate Criminal Justice Committee on Monday temporarily postponed those bills. Technically, they could return later in the legislative session. But as committees hold their final meetings this week with only three weeks left in the session, the bills are all but dead. The hearings were the swan song of state Sen. Randolph Bracy, D-Orlando, who was chosen to run the committee this session by the Senate s Republican leadership. I guess it s not popular right now, but we ve got to think about policy for 20 million people and 100 million guests and what our world s going to look like, said state Sen. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, of the marijuana decriminalization bill. I m sorry. I m just the dad that tells you things you don t want to hear. Proponents argued that the bill, filed by state Sen. Jeff Clemens, D-Lake Worth, was needed because several counties, including all of South Florida, have already passed decriminalization measures, leading to varied levels of enforcement across the state. There are some communities that have passed local ordinances, like a $100 ticket down in Miami, whereas in other places you get the full brunt of the law, said Ethel Rowland, President and CEO of Florida Cannabis Action Network. A pair of bills that would have restructured the restoration of voting rights to ex-felons in Florida were also postponed without a vote. Florida has some of the harshest laws in the nation when it comes to exfelons ability to get the right to vote returned to them. In most states, it s automatically returned after felons complete probation and parole. In Florida, a commission comprised of the governor and his cabinet has to return the right to vote to ex-felons, and the commission rarely decides to do so. We are an outlier in the state of Florida," Clemens said. "1.5 million people can't vote, which represents 30 percent of people who can't vote" nationwide because they ve lost the right to vote over their criminal records. Baxley was against automatic restoration of voter rights in any case. State Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, feared that the bills were unconstitutional because the state constitution lays out the criteria for restoring voting rights. He supported a constitutional amendment that would put the idea before Florida voters. 1

3 The committee unanimously passed a proposal by Clemens to reduce the mandatory minimum sentencing laws faced by nonviolent marijuana and cocaine traffickers. That bill still hasn t had a committee hearing in the House. One bill that has cleared every House committee effectively died when Bracy elected not to hear it. That bill would have made it a third-degree felony to vandalize a veteran s memorial. I don t support measures that create new penalties. So it wasn t necessarily directed toward this particular bill, it s kind of an overall policy position, Bracy said. I support veterans and I believe we need to protect their memory and what they ve done for this country. Veterans and war re-enactors held a news conference and march earlier in the day to voice opposition to Bracy s failure to hear the bill. 2

4 MEDIA OUTLET: Margate News HEADLINE: Top Police Request Hefty Hike in Base Pay (Editorial) BYLINE: Mitchell Pellecchia LINK: STORY: The labor contract with the ten or so top Margate police lieutenants and captains will go before city commissioners for a vote at the Wednesday city commission meeting. Lieutenants are asking for a 15% increase in base pay for Fiscal Year (FY) and captains a 14% boost in base pay. The following fiscal year, the two ranks ask for another 5.4% and 4.6% wage increase respectively in the proposed agreement. Lieutenants are looking to raise base pay from $98,898 in 2015 to $113,750 retroactive to October Add another $6204 to bring annual earnings to $119,954 in FY Captains want to jack their current $108,788 annual salary to $124,090 for FY and add another 4.6% or $5,789 in the following year and bring union member salaries to $129,879. All increases far exceed yearly Cost of Living Adjustments (COLAs) or CPIs (Consumer Price Indices) projected in coming years for both public and private sectors. While healthy increases proposed in the PBA (Police Benevolent Association) labor contract with the city impact less than a dozen police personnel, the hefty hike impacts pension payouts for taxpayers until members reach the age of 65. To combat this, some cities have gone to lump sum raises instead of annual base pay increases. This lessons the impact on taxpayers while still rewarding police. Police top brass in Margate historically have only a few years left before retirement eligibility. Large increases to base pay directly impact pension payouts, to which Margate taxpayers shoulder until the retiree reaches Social Security age; the larger an officer s base pay upon retirement; the larger the pension and the bigger the Florida Retirement System DROP for law enforcement members in the last five years of service. Notably, elected officials need to weigh the value in paying police a premium on their way out the door, as opposed to investing more tax dollars on police in the streets - essentially raising the salaries of new recruits to attract the best and brightest to the city. Captains and Lieutenants in Margate function as senior administrators and supervisors of five major law enforcement bureaus in the city: Field Services, Investigative Services, Administrative Services, Support Services and Community Services. Under each bureau are multiple divisions that encompass a number of components. They oversee road patrols, special assignments and scheduling. To effectively approve such a significant increase in base pay for senior police staff, commissioners would first need to learn how each of the lieutenants and captains performed in the last three years of their contract with Margate. How was job performance measured? How do subordinates feel about supervisors? Have elected officials reviewed the jackets of pay increase prospects or have been otherwise privy to performance reviews conducted by the city s chief of police or city manager? 3

5 Since appointed in January 2017 to Interim Margate City Manager, Sam May, has attended one PBA negotiating session while working under former city manager, Doug Smith. May is recommending approval of base pay increases for senior police staff, along with other contract articles. On what basis is May recommending approval of the pay increase? Is he washing the laundry of his predecessor or does he have data or otherwise that substantiates pay increases for top ladder police? Strangely, the performance of police rarely comes into play during the collective bargaining of labor contracts with the City. While union agreements are largely about pay and benefits, justifications for pay increases over the years have centered largely on how police in Margate are on average paid less than police neighboring cities - many of which are larger in area and population than Margate. Nothing appears in the Wednesday city commission backup that addresses past performance of senior police, who are not subject to review by elected officials or a citizen board when determining performance benchmarks. Has a strategic plan (not a marketing plan) for law enforcement in Margate been established? Is it available for public viewing? Has the succession plan that police chiefs for five years have talked about been established and implemented? Is it available for public viewing? If either is in place; have elected officials reviewed documents on behalf of the best interest of Margate citizens? Year-after-year, elected officials seemingly gloss over labor union contracts with few demands when approving or disapproving labor contracts at public meetings. Historically, the figurative 'head turn' is the result of labor unions supporting candidates running for Margate elected office with endorsements, campaign contributions, and campaign workers at the polls - hence a near guarantee that those elected to office would back union demands and contracts. In the November election, police got it wrong. Neither of two candidates endorsed by police was elected. Neither did a third candidate who is now serving a second term and with no police endorsements. Prior to Wednesday s meeting, elected officials will have met with the city manager numerous times as part of shade meetings (out of the public eye) that address collective bargaining. While elected officials can attend union negotiations as a member of the public, they are not allowed to participate, because later commissioners will vote on labor contracts. Commissioners can also request recordings of negotiations as a matter of public record. In doing either, elected officials would get a bird s eye view of what the blue line is asking for and from there better establish informed questions for union leaders and city management. In solely getting information from shade meetings, commissioners receive collective bargaining information second hand from senior executives, some of whom have failed occassionally in the past to tell the whole story to commissioners on important issues. Collective bargaining with the PBA is years behind schedule as indicated by the date of the proposed labor agreement ( ). To this end, police are asking for pay bumps to be retroactive to October A burdensome practice for bookkeeping as each officer may be receiving different types of assignment pay or otherwise unique to his or her paycheck. Though the PBA membership is a small group, same is done for much larger labor unions in Margate. Commissioners may want to consider 4

6 asking Finance how retroactive pay is handled and the manpower hours needed to do so. Is there software that does the job quickly? To this end, why would taxpayers want to pay police for work already completed? Retroactive pay increases? Who invented this? Once upon a time, collective bargaining with the city s four labor unions began shortly after the first month of a final contract year (sometimes earlier) and would be finished by budget hearings in September. This way, elected officials knew how much was approved for payroll in the budget before approving the city's $100 million budget, the majority of which is consumed by police and fire-rescue payrolls. The last time labor union negotiations were timely in Margate was four city managers ago. Since, some city managers have said they were putting the collective bargaining process back on track but never did. Elected officials need to learn why. They also need to learn the figure approved for PBA wage increases in the FY budget last September. What was the amount of that figure, and who determined it on what basis? Some former and current Margate police officers opine that the Margate Police Department has leadership problems. Employed police remain anonymous for fear of losing jobs and/or retribution by senior leaders. As alleged by officers testifying in a recent job arbitration session for one of their own, it was revealed that to file a complaint against a supervisor is considered by the rank and file as "career suicide" in Margate. Also expressed have been internal concerns over the Department's promotional process, to which counterparts in fire-rescue have raised issues regarding their own. The promotional process is directly impacted by senior command staff in the City and includes no oversight by citizens, the union, or the city's Civil Service Board (unless a complaint is filed) If elected officials haven t done it already, they should learn if there is any basis to above allegations. And having police investigate themselves is not the answer. In fact, attorney's recently put a gag on a former Margate police officer who settled a longstanding complaint with the MPD and as part of the settlement can't talk about it. Moreover, two Margate top cops are being sued in federal court with allegations that the Margate Police Department is a hostile workplace. Elected officials too may want to examine police working working conditions - namely the 11-plus hour shifts worked by police that can lead to fatigue, diminished demeanors, individual stress, familial distress and compromised critical thinking. Elected officials heard on the campaign trail that neighborhood policing needs work. Code compliance needs work. Residents repeatedly have said they want more police in the streets to assuage speeders and keep riffraff out of Margate. And while Margate police have little say in dispatch issues since consolidating communications with Broward County, commissioners may want to consider banking more police dollars for local communications infrastructure instead of lining the pockets of soon-to-be retirees. Additionally, redirecting city revenues at fostering incentives for police willing to work in the same city where they live would strengthen the Margate community and make for a safer city. The time has never been better for elected officials to ask top-ranking police leaders some difficult questions before granting huge bumps in pay. If not, police are running the city, not the people or its elected officials. 5

7 MEDIA OUTLET: ABC Miami (Channel 10) HEADLINE: Restraining order denied against head of Miami police union in cyberstalking case BYLINE: Neki Mohan LINK: STORY: MIAMI - More than a year ago, Claudio Castillo posted a video on social media of herself stopping a Miami-Dade officer after she said he was speeding. The video went viral in January Shortly after that, Miami Lt. Javier Ortiz, a police union chief, began posting information about Castillo on his Facebook page, according to Castillo's attorney. Castillo s request to have a permanent restraining order against Ortiz was denied Monday in court. Castillo claimed in court that Ortiz posted personal information about her, including her phone number, online. She also alleged that Ortiz posted photos of her holding a beer, called her a wannabe cop and told others to "feel free to call and tell her how you feel." "When you have one of the most powerful police officers in the city of Miami sitting 20 feet, 10 feet, from you as you're giving testimony of how he's, basically, done something wrong to you, it's nerveracking," Castillo said. Castillo said she received threats and feared for her life. When Ortiz took the stand, he admitted to sharing posts about her and claimed he is in no way a physical threat to her. He also said his comments were within his right to free speech. "I did not mean to, in any way, shape or form, threaten Ms. Castillo, and I think that was proven today," Ortiz said. 6