Fort Lauderdale’s Spending Addiction and High City Employee Salaries -
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Fort Lauderdale’s Spending Addiction and High City Employee Salaries
Last year, in the middle of a horrible economy, City Manager George Gretsas grew the City’s budget from $600M to $605M. He called it a “zero-based” budget, when everyone at City Hall (including Mayor Jack Seiler) knew that description was a complete fabrication.
This year, City Manager Gretsas has presented to the Commission a budget that continues to swell, from $605M to $612M! It provides even higher salaries and pay raises. Today, HUNDREDS of city employees receive total compensation well in excess of $100,000 per year. Mayor Jack Seiler, who approved last year’s bloated budget, (as well as salary increases for these City employees), appears to be on track to approve yet another swollen budget this September.
If Mayor Seiler approves this budget without making significant cuts, he will be making a big mistake. The rest of our available reserves will be used up. Our City will be faced with an even worse revenue shortfall next year and will be forced to raise property taxes. We are fast approaching a financial cliff that will negatively affect everyone who lives in Fort Lauderdale. Yet for the last year, the only advice from our Mayor has been: “Don’t lay off any City employees”.
We see homes in foreclosure, people losing their job (or are having to accept lower pay to keep their job), and housing values almost half of what they were a few years ago. How bad does the economy have to be, Mayor Seiler, before you start to cut the budget?
Budget History:
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For the last six years, Fort Lauderdale’s Budget has been set based on how much revenue was coming in through property taxes, not on what it actually cost to provide services to residents.
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Since property values increased, the budget was simply pegged at whatever the expected revenues would be. Rather than reduce the millage rate and control the budget, the budget grew at almost 10% per year. Most municipal budgets grow annually at around 1-2%. City spending went “out of control”.
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In six years, our budget grew from $345 million to over $600 million. If our city ran well on a budget of $345 million six years earlier (with essentially the same population we have now), why should it cost us almost twice as much today?
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With today’s swollen budget, we now have a larger-than-necessary bureaucracy. City Departments have grown from 8 to 18, each with more overpaid managers than we need. This over-staffed bureaucracy has impeded, (rather than improve), city services to residents.
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City Manager Gretsas has not asked for cutbacks from a single Department this year. Why? Because our Mayor did not want him to make any cuts!
Examples of Budget Mismanagement:
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Longevity bonuses (merit raises) and 5% annual pay raises for City employees are continuing unabated. The total compensation for the average City employee today is almost double what the average Fort Lauderdale resident earns!
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There exists an almost $400 million debt in pension liabilities that we tax payers will have to pay City employees, yet it does not even appear in the budget.
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The City continues to spend money lavishly on city vehicles that are not needed. Other cities usually get almost twice as much use out of their vehicles (before they trade them in) than we do. Why?
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Most cities our size have an employee base of 1,600 city employees. Our city seems to require 2,600 employees, year after year. Why?
There continues to be a disconnect between the real world, (where taxpayers live) and the stratified world of City Management, who continue to ask for pay raises, higher pension benefits, and larger Department budgets. Our current budget must be reduced significantly THIS YEAR, or you will be paying more in property taxes next year. Either our Commission must do it, or we must do it ourselves.
Compare our City’s budget to a fiscally responsible budget:
Attached below is a graph showing the budget growth of the City of Fort Lauderdale (red bars), coupled with a typical black growth line of a fiscally responsible city. The green bars are what we are suggesting, starting this year:
Proposal for Fiscal Reform:
1. A 10% reduction in the proposed $612 million dollar budget be made to bring the Total Operating Budget (General Fund and Enterprise Fund) back down to approximately $550M. (This would still be an increase over the 2007-2008 budget).
2. Thereafter, we suggest an annual 2.5% budget reduction in the Total Operating Budget (General and Enterprise Funds). This will serve two purposes:
a. It will force City Management to start to cut the fat, to carefully plan for future reductions and make the necessary operational changes with minimal impact on employee staffing.
b. A five-year period of gradual cuts will insure that the police & fire and general employee’s unions understand that their next round of salary negotiations will probably include salary cuts or other concessions.
3. Cutting the General Fund Budget will insure that property taxes are either cut or are held steady (no future tax increases).
4. Cutting the Enterprise Fund Budget will insure that taxes and fees can be reduced in utility bills, parking fees, etc. It has been those pesky and ever-rising fees and taxes in our bills which have hurt businesses, homeowners and tourism in our city. And cutting the expenses and reducing the fees by an equivalent amount should have no negative impact on our financial ratings.
We believe that with aggressive action taken this year by our Commission, we can stave off even more dire cutbacks next year and insure that fiscal responsibility returns to our City, hopefully under new more professional management.
What do you think? Should our Mayor start to look out for our interests, instead of just overpaid City employees? Should we start a grass-roots effort to bring the budget back under control (and reduce our taxes and fees), if our elected officials won’t do it?
Let me know.
Earl Rynerson
www.abetterftlauderdale.com
Reader Comments
YES YES YES YES!!!
Sign me up! I’m so frustrated with elected officials lining their own pockets at our expense (Just look at Bell, California!), it’s about time that we do something about it. Let me know how I can help-
Jim W.
Sign me up too. Fed up with escalating taxes that line every city employee’s pockets. There’s no work out here. How bad does it have to get? When the city looses a good portion of it’s citizens. When the jails are filled beyond capacity as a result of crimes committed by good standing citizens out of desperation. It’s a train wreck happening in slow motion.
Just recently, I was in Orlando, FL. Do you know how many police cars I saw in 4 days? 2. Do you know how many accidents I witnessed? 0. Do you know how many tickets I saw given out? 0. We travel to Orlando a couple times a year with our kids to enjoy the parks. However, each time we are there, I always take notice of the police force. It’s not there and apparently, it’s not that necessary.
Why is Ft. Laud obsessed with the police force? There too many, they are everywhere. Two to three officers for one driving ticket. God forbid if there’s a fender bender. You’ll see so many officers you can’t count them. You’ll see the Fire Dept., the Rescue vehicle, it goes on. People, it’s not that they are so happy to rescue you, it’s the dollars they get paid every time. I can’t see them knocking themselves out like that if they didn’t have a special interest in it. Do we really need all that?
Are the Mayor and the commissioners on a different planet? I have lost my entire retirement thru foreclosure. 2 homes and 3 condos. The outrageous real estate taxes killed these investments. I wonder how many city employees are going thru foreclosure or bankrupcy? They are certainly not cops or firemen. Time for a revolt!!! I’ve got nothing to loose.
YES YES YES Let’s start a grassroot effort,,,,,,,,,,
The Elected Officials did nothing last year and looks like they will do nothing this Budget Year They are not Listening to US We need to united and stand together to make a change !!!! If nothing changes we will all pay more in Fees and Property Taxes Very Soon.
On what planet do we find this “fiscally responsible city” you speak of? The issues you describe are pervasive in governments everywhere.
What most people don’t understand is that higher salaries now mean higher pension liabilities later.
Every company in the world is trimming staff as much as possible except for the government and my condo board.
Do city employees have a contract mandating a 5% escalator? Why are we giving them any raise at all? They have no leverage. There are no other jobs In a recession people should be happy to have a job at all, much less complain about not getting a raise. Property taxes are dropping. There’s virtually 0% inflation. In recessions you don’t give raises at all and you hope some people quit so you don’t have to fire them.
the people in city hall have lost there minds.
all they want to do is spend spend.
and f**k every body else.
city workers are to good to be laied off may be they might have to live like the rest of us.
ask your self this why does it take 6 city workers to dig a hole.
the answer one to dig and five to stand and look.
every body who works for the city should be fried today
and the county is no better
THIS IS A F*****G OUTRAGE.
Please Tim, I agree with you, but no vulgar language-
Earl
I like to read blogs just as this to better educate myself.
Ill put it out there…I am a 19.7 year veteran of a local police dept.
Ive worked, Ive gotten raises…some great, some not so great. In my city this year…actually for the past 2 years I did not receive a raise…have I complained..NO…have I whined..NO…Ive accepted it and moved on.
I own a home, I am not in foreclosure or bankrupcy and pay all my bills on time and within my budget…why… because I have chosen to live my life fiscally responsible…the key words there are fiscally responsible.
Citizens…I am utterly disgusted at your loathing for your police/fire/public employees.
Where the HELL were all of you when you owned 2 homes, 3 condos and took several home equity lines?? Where were you when YOUR govts were spending everything in the bank because it was there?
But now…that the bottom has dropped out….the only place you can look is to screw the public employees because of goverments mismangement???
Alot of you are correct…all local govts spent the increase in tax revenues unabated but now you want to tie us to the stake and burn us. Yet you still want to crucify the employees…..how many of you actually go to your commission meetings? Voice your displeasure? Vote? Write or email your reps?
For those of you questioning why 2-3 officers are there on a traffic stop…just ask the families of the 2 Tampa PD officers who were shot in the head and then run over with the getaway car..please dont question our tactics when it comes down to our and your safety…this is not “digging a ditch”…this is real life and death things we do so when you break it all down…whats more important to you….the ugly railings on Las Olas..being able to go to the Library every day or being safe in your homes and lives….I guess you have all spoken…like everything else in life…it all boils down to $…THE TRUE ROOT OF ALL EVIL
PS – To Gladys…in answer to your posting…have you researched Orlandos crime stats?? Just wondering because I did….heres the link:
http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/Content/getdoc/b8cd3f1a-c473-4307-9baa-229592396688/CoMuOff2009annual.aspx
Orlando is WAY more violent…Murders, Rape, Robbery, Ag Assault all higher in 2009 in Orlando….
Is it really worth it?
Slow down there, Joseph! The type of “outrage” you voice here is what make many citizens think that we do have City employees (like yourself) who have become too comfortable with their salaries, pensions and benefits, and not willing to recognize the economic realities today that the rest of us are having to deal with.
You can cite all the stats and web links you want, but when a police officer’s starting salary is higher than the average salary here, then that’s just plain wrong.
When your unions are able to get 2.5% to 5% salary raises every year from a career politician (Seiler) who gives it to you because he wants your future support, then that’s plain wrong.
When City employees receive a lavish pension plan that most of us will never see (yet we still will have to pay for yours out of our own pocket), then that’s plain wrong.
When you are able to retire after 20 years, receive your pension, then go right back to work for someone else and get a second salary and pension (again at taxpayer’s expense), then that’s plain wrong.
My suggestion to you is that you stop being antagonistic to those that (I think) are rightly outraged, and instead try to open your eyes to what is going on in the real world. Sure, we need to pay our emergency personnel fairly. But our elected officials here in Broward have for years been far too lavish with salaries, pensions and benefits for all municipal employees (not just police and fire) in order to curry favor with municipal employee unions. I believe it is time to end this.
Earl
The City needs across the board reductions in all departments. No compromises,no favorites,no political rewards will be tolerated. We need a get tough management style. If industry can do it ,there is absolutely no reason why government can’t.In industry the hard part of the budget is the income side(sales,production,delivery of product,etc.) In government there is really only the expense side. When Government needs money, it is simple,raise taxes. The heck with cutting back on expenses.Salaries in the City Government are out of control. The same applies to benefits. Studies have shown the government employees make overall thirty seven (37) percent more than their equal counterparts in non- government jobs.
If we don’t take action now,we can expect a spirally downward City with a rapid deterioration of our quality of life.
Dear Joseph the Cop,
I think your comments are misguided. If Fort Lauderdale city employees are in fact overpaid and receiving 5% raises, we’re not suggesting that anyone get “screwed”. We’re suggesting that they be treated like every employee in the private sector, who are working fewer hours and foregoing raises to keep their jobs.
One reason the police do get more wrath than perhaps you personally deserve is that politicians always use public safety as leverage to justify their bloated budgets. Its always “we’ll have to let police and fireman go and crime will become rampant and your house may burn down”. Or the police unions using fear tactics claiming that the city will fall to criminals if we hire 2 fewer cops. The rhetoric they use make it seem that only 2 choices are higher taxes or rampant crime.
Nobody wants to tie anyone to the stake and burn them. We want city employees to make the same sacrifices as everyone else. Its as simple as that.
Earl, all we hear from you is how the taxpayers are paying too much for police and fire services. You portray yourself as some self righteous citizen against public pensions. Why don’t you stop being such a hypocrite and post the following: How much did you earn from my tax dollars while in the military? My guess is close to $80,000 per year, as you put it the citizens have made you a millionaire. And how much does your pension that you never paid a dime into pay you each year? My guess is that your pension is above what you keep calling the average income of a Fort Lauderdale resident. And what are your lifetime medical benefits that I continue to pay for? See the difference between you and me Earl is this. I gladly pay my taxes to fund your pay and pension because you provided a service that very few would, you protected me and my family. And for the record, unlike your pension the sworn men and women of the City of Fort Lauderdale pay into their pension which is not lavish and well earned. You ran for a position of leadership but first you must lead by example. Give up your pension so I don’t have to continue to pay for it. The truth is with the City millage rate at 4.2% and the average home value at $300,000 you pay approximately $1,200 dollars per year in City taxes. Yes you pay less for your City taxes than your average cable bill. This is what you get for the $120 per month. You can feel comfortable going to sleep at night that when you wake up and turn on your faucet clean water comes out. When you put out your trash, it mysteriously gets picked up. And in the unfortunate case that you may need police or fire services, first class first responders show up. I agree that there is fat to be trimmed in this City, but I have confidence in our commissioners to do it.
Hey Jack! Glad to see that the Head of our Police Union is still reading my “rantings…”
Here’s the info you asked for:
1. 20 years military service in the Air Force (Flight Navigator); 6+ years active duty, 13+ years active reserves.
2. Entered in 1975 as 2nd Lt. Retired in 1997 as Lt. Colonel.
3. Participated (flew) in operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
4. Total Pay as 2nd Lt in 1975: About $15,000/year (Correction: I checked my records and it was actually $8,810.40/year).
5. Total Pay as Lt Col in 1997: About $50,000/year (Correction: I checked my records and it was $64,728.00/year)
6. Current pension benefits: NONE (Monthly pension kicks in when I’m 60 years old)
7. Amount of monthly pension I’ll receive at age 60: $1,850/month, about $21,000 year. (Much less than a police officer with 20 years and half what a Fort Lauderdale resident earns.)
8. Government paid health and medical benefits: Zero. Over the last 15 years, any military retiree who made more than $25,000 a year receives no health or medical. (I have been paying for my own health insurance over the last 15 years out of my own pocket.)
9. I own my own company and I have no other pension or any other form of retirement other than the business which I own and work to make it and my employees successful.
So I am proud of what I have accomplished, both for myself and our country.
Now let’s get back to the issue at hand. I am glad to know that we agree there is fat that can be cut. I am glad that you appreciate my service to our country, just as I appreciate the service that our professional police officers provide here. I do not share your confidence in the abilities of our elected officials to make the right decisions; they just awarded you folks a 5% raise this year, then another 2.5% next year and another 2.5% raise the year after that. I know that you are putting an additinal 1% into your own pension, but the net is still higher raises and pensions over time that taxpayers have to support. And when police and fire salaries are STARTING at $50,000 year now, there is something amiss. It’s not just Police and Fire, it’s all our city employees and management. Jack, I challenge you to stop by my home for a beer some time and I’ll show you all the documents I’ve mentioned above so that you can see I’m not “blowing smoke”. You’ve got my number. I’ll be waiting…. Earl
I don’t believe that you can pad your pension with overtime in the Military, can you Earl?
I think Jack does his case more harm than good with his arguments. Telling citizens that they should shut up and be thankful that we have running water is not productive. Nor is it productive to ask Earl to give up his well-earned pension. Did Earl ask you to give up your pension?
Or did he simply ask you to tighten your belt so you don’t appear to be living in some world other than the one we live in?
Thank you, Dennis- And no, you cannot pad your pension with overtime in the military, like they do in the Police Dept. Serving “Active Duty” in the military is a 24/7 gig. (The Reserves is a different story, though..)
Earl
Wow Earl…so let me get this straight….the one poster can state unsupported facts about crime stats and I pull up actual facts and you “bash” me for it.
I dont live in a fantasy world. The reason the Pensions are good for police/fire is that historically, we were way underpaid and that was the offset.
Most of us who are involved in unions realize that it cant continue and if you polled most Broward Police agencies, youll see theyve started 2nd Tier Pensions.. where new hires get less benefits. Is it a cure, NO…but it is a start.
Ive heard many people say to roll back our salaries, strip our pensions and other outlandish things…that is not the answer.
We ALL (as I am a taxpayer too) have to look at future employees and make the change there.
What I think alot of the readers dont understand is that Florida is a Collective Bargaining State so the contracts with the unions are binding. It is the politicians who approved them. Most Floridians are non unionized so its hard for them to understand except that we are money sucking leaches.
I know to alot of people it seems outlandish that we can retire on 70-80% of our salary then go out and get another job…but once again…it is a benefit we enjoy for the possibilty of being killed. Also, I for one pay 9.5% of my salary into my pension…almmost $8000/year. This is no free ride for me. Do the math and over 20 years X 200+ officers…we pay a great share. I know anyone can be killed at any time but everyone has to agree that cops/firemen are more susceptable.
I know for one in my municipality, because of open dialogue and working with the city, weve been able to avoid layoffs, reduce the workforce by 100+ employees, lowered healthcare costs by Millions, developed 2nd tier pensions for police & general employees.
With all this being said, I appreciate any dialoge your readers will engage me in.
For too long the police/fire are being portrayed as an enemy and we really are not.
Our oath is to serve and protect everyone wether they hate us/our salary/ or our pensions…because when the call goes out that a citizen needs assistance…we go…without question…is what we do….no need for thanks, medal, ribbons or great amount of money/pension…just what has been promised, reasonable and fair.
I don’t mean to “bash” you Joseph. And more importantly, I don’t believe that anyone thinks that police and fire are the enemy. I’d like to think that you guys are friends. But most (if not all) municipal employees today are over-compensated. That includes police and fire. We cannot afford the future pensions that our past and current elected officials have promised. So what do you think should be the right approach? The status quo (with future continuous pay raises) certainly is not the solution. Do you have any suggestions?
Earl
Earl: You hit on a question that I have been pondering for many months: How is it that the city provides essentially the same services that it did in the pre-real estate boom era on a budget of approximately half of what it is today? I have not realized a rise in services that commensurate with the rise in the budget. Does that make any sense? I wish that the % increase in the city’s budget was an investment–it certainly outpaced any investment out there!!!!
Earl and the pro-Police peeps: Many of the Police Officers also participate in the “Private Duty” service in which the Officer provides security detail for private individuals, businesses, neighborhood associations, etc. Is this extra compensation figured into your discussions? The private entities pay the officers directly.
I’m not sure that I agree with this practice for many reasons, but I will only list two. First, it could create a conflict of interest– could the private entities receive preferential treatment (access to officer while on duty for the City, faster response, etc.)? Two, even though the officers are paid by the private entity, they work in their uniform and use the city police car (which i am sure is filled with gas paid for by the city) during the security detail. I have even seen a police car routinely parked (and not moved) in my neighborhood for a week or more at a time in various spots throughout the year (my neighborhood association uses the police for private detail) for crime deterrent purposes. I wonder what the other tax paying citizens that live outside my neighborhood think about this use of taxpayer ‘s resources. Their neighborhood doesn’t receive this service. Is that considered preferential treatment?
OOOPPS! Yes, Earl, I think their should be a grass roots effort to reduce the budget–it obviously is not being managed appropriately by our elected officials.
The private details do damage the image of the police I think. The police tell us that they don’t have the resources to provide needed coverage, but then there are 5 officers hanging out in front of The Brick on Friday night checking out girls. People who don’t know that they are on private detail get a very negative impression of the city police because of this. I know that was my impression when I first moved here. I said to myself “Why did I have to step over 4 vagrants on my way here and there are 12 cops hanging out in Himmarshee Village”?
Are the police willing to have their pensions based on straight salary (like the rest of non-union America) rather than total compensation? Such a concession would benefit officers who need extra work, the city by giving them more flexibility in deploying their force for special events, and the public by not making overtime costs so exponentially expensive in future budgets that we have to avoid overtime to have any chance of balancing future budgets. Anyone who says they’re being screwed by having their pension based on their salary isn’t going to get any sympathy from the public. Overtime would become a useful, management tool rather than a political ploy.
And there is no need to “roll back” salaries. You just forego raises, or take smaller raises, until they are in-line with what they should be. With a 5% escalator in a 1% economy, its clear that we’re going in the opposite direction. 5% in this economy shows that nobody is serious about anything on either side of the table.
Earl,
Thanks for having the guts to fight the bloated Ft. Ldle government; with such weak leaders. The mayor and commissioners promised us that they would focus on reducing government and taxes. They would protect neighborhoods.
Yet, they have done nothing. We are all for cops and firefighters. But giving raises to the public sector, when the private sector is hurting so badly, is wrong. Our Ft.Ldle government is anti-business.
If you want to see how the too-many government regulations, rules, building codes, etc are hurting the economy, try getting a business license or a building permit. See the frustration of our fellow citizens trying to do business with Ft. Ldle. Then angry voters just do the construction job without permits, and hope that big government does not catch them. The City loses revenue from permits.
We need a referendum on your ideas. We must get government back into the hands of the voters. Take it out of career politician Seiler and zero-leadership Rogers. Your grass roots movement must organize quickly, as the tax base will shrink even more next year. Fortunately the politicians will start campaigning at the end of 2011. We must be there with candiates that will reduce government & regulations, and respect neighborhoods. Cannot wait for Town Hall meetings, where we get to express our frustrations at the elected ones and their special interest lobbyists. Gerry
Earl first and formost I would like to thank you for your service to our country, I for one greatly appreciate it.
Now as for your pay, $64,000 seems like a lot of compensation especially when you look back in time. $64,000 in 1997 was a lot of money, were you a reservist or were you active duty? If you were in the reserves it seems like a substantial amount of money. Now to compare your retirement when you only worked 6 years active and try and compare it to a current 20+ year retired officers pension is a little misleading. I have friends that have spent more than 20 years active and are recently going to retire and I can tell you that the compensation for their 20 years is very very good and it was far from a 24/7 gig, more like a 9 to 5 job.6 years active and 13 reserves and you get a taxpayer funded pension, that is a great deal. And for the record there are hundreds of Fort Lauderdale police and firefighters that served our country and many had boots on the ground in a war zone and are now continuing to protect as civil servants.
Here is the link for current military pay
http://www.militaryfactory.com/military_pay_scale.asp
I believe they do not contribute to their pension, do not pay for medical and many have housing and food provisions.
The current police and fire contracts contain pension reform, current employees will contribute more and future employees will contribute even more. Employee health insurance contributions have increased by hundreds of dollars a month. It may not be the best situation but it is a start and I am assuming and gearing up that the next contract will contain even more reform.
Also I am not sure if you were here about 8 years ago when the city almost went belly up but it was the same police and fire civil servants who voted to save the city and give back, along with the general employees. I for one gave back thousands of dollars to help the city I love come out of a hard time. The men and women that serve the city of Fort Lauderdale work very hard to keep you and other safe day and night. I go out of my way every shift to make sure that I help to make the city a better safer place. I love Fort Lauderdale and I love serving the citizens of Fort Lauderdale.
Earl, if you have anger I would suggest you direct it to the leaders of the city not the general workers and to say that I am over compensated may be a true statement and may be a fale statement it depends on who you ask. If you took a pole on the 41,000+ fire deparmtnet runs and hundreds of thousands of people that the fire department encounters on yearly basis, I bet you would find the majority would say we are not paid enough. Try and gather a group for any movement and you may get a hundred or so, say that you are going to close a fire station, shut down a fire engine, threaten to get rid of police, get rid of the mounted patrol, get rid of police boats and the citizens along with the homeowners associations will rise by the thousands and city hall will fill with so many people they will be standing outside by the fountain. I have seen it first hand, people want to feel safe and protected. Not only is public safety good for the resident, but it is good for the community, it is good for tourism, business,insurance and home values.
Earl I know serving in a war you have probably seen some bad things, but to see the same bad things in a city like Fort Lauderdale sometimes hits home. I have held dead babies pulled from cribs at 4 in the morning, told loved ones that their 16 year old child did not survive the mangled car wreck, seen murder victims, seen shooting victims, stabbing victims, suicide, hangings, drownings, it goes on and one, you know what I mean. When a human picks up the phone and calls 911 they do not want to give you cookies, they in their minds have an emergency and many are life and death situations. There are also some good times when 911 is called, I have delivered dozens of babies over the years, saved countless lives within the city of Fort Lauderdale and have brought people back from death, to have them later come by and thank me. I have gone into burning buildings and saved hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars worth of tax paying citizens property. I am not asking for handouts, I am not asking for thanks, I do not look for rewards, I am just doing my JOB, which I LOVE. I kiss my wife and family prior to leaving for work because there is a possibility that I may not come home. This is no game, this is life and death and I can tell you that I have seen the system fail and when it does fail the results are not good. And for anyone that does not believe me you are fooling yourself, I am a city worker who loves Fort Lauderdale the greatest city in America!!!!
First of all, thank you Earl for writing in. I was about to write something similar only not as eloquently as you. We (entrepreneurs)see life a little differently than those in the corporate world. Speaking to the police officer, when we were buying 2 and 3 houses, it was not out of ignorance or greed, it was out of necessity. You see at retirement, we do not receive nice pensions nor do we get to retire at 50 where we can have a 2nd good paying full time job. Also, during our professional careers, we paid our own way in every aspect. No free cars, no free gas or maintenance, no health insurance and no overtime. All of it was paid out of our own pockets and many other expenses entrepreneurs are obligated to pay that I won’t bore you with while making our contribution thru taxes to pay yours. While you were able to save money on all of these, we couldn’t. Now, the reason for the 2 and 3 houses among other investments. Most of us saw this as an opportunity to own something that would help support us in our later years named retirement. This was not a guarantee for us but a speculation in hopes that we were making the right decision during a time where we could still work vs. your pension which is guaranteed. Big difference in mental stress alone. As for credit cards, I’m sure there are people who misused their credit and live beyond their means but not all of us are like that. It is not the reason I have been in business for over 25 years. I had to use my credit to move my company. My husband and I did this in 2008 and then the country started to crumble and we all went down with it. Our credit, the way we do business and how we live day to day. The most painful part of all this is that we have worked a lifetime and saved only to find oursevles older, closer to retirement and with nothing to show for it. It is my understanding that the average citizen pays out approximately 40% of their salaries between insurances, taxes and interest. That’s a big chunk off of what has already been trimmed down… it’s tough out here.
I applaud Dennis for his insight but we are not non -union America. We have fought very hard to be unionized like Americas past workers in the 1800′s.
Id like to point on point address alot of the issues raised:
– Being “in the know”, most every pension system does not include details as part of “Total Cash Remuneration(TCR)”
TCR does include any and all salary you made in your usually highest 3-5 years which is your last 5 years.
– Overtime is not as prevelant and rampant as everyone thinks.
– The raises you talk about in Ft Laud were a result of several years of no contracts, so in essence, they are for years past when the budget was explosive and keeps them in par with surrounding agencies
– Most govt employees salaries have been frozen for 1-2 years
– Details are paid by the vendor and the city keeps a fee to cover gas, the car, etc.
– The concept of TCR is founded in SS 185…which is a tax premium on insurance policies that all homeowners pay to help assist and fund local pensions. If a city acccepts the 185 monies, they must agree to implement certain state required things like TCR, OT, etc in the final calculations. Research how much money Ft laud accepts from 185!
- We are doing more with less…..its not a smoke screen..I for one am doing 3 jobs becuase they eleiminated 2 civilian positions and i have their responsiblities.
I truley do think that Earl, you owe your readers and yourself to fully investigate all the municipal pensions(If you have, I apologize). Theyre very complex animals…from local ordinances to state laws. Nothing is hidden…its all public record….
Like I stated before…most unions realize that it cannot continue. Alot of them have formed 2nd tiers for new hires….were doing our best to help but when we, the union take the time to research the citys finances and we see the rampant waste, we cannot help to wonder.
Thank you….
Gladys
Thank you for your constructive response
One of the reasons i am posting so much is that for too long everyone has been killing us in the media and no one speaks up
With that said…the take home cars…Great topic
Firstly…it is a tool….like a gun.
When I am riding to and from work in that car, or going home from the gym…and a call goes out from a citizen for help…I go…Im ready to help, assist whatever it may be
There are very strict restirctions on those cars. to/from work, schools court usually. no joyriding on off time, no beach time etc etc etc
It works both ways….is it a benefit to me, of course…is it a benefit to you…of course
Alot of agencies reuqire us to pay for vehicle insurance and pay a fuel surcharge
We pay for insurance…some more than others depending on if you are single or a family…
I started this career at 18 so, yes in 25 years ill be 43 but will have paid almost $300,000 plus of my own money into that pension…no free ride…will i go out and work when I retire…of course…ill be 43 for sakes
Gladys, you made a statement…you had a buisness…your choice and if the stars were lined up…you might of made WAY more that I could ever dream…but, these are bad times and when times were good….NO ONE paid any attention…Im not advocating that at all….but lets be realistic….people are so aware cause its hitting them in the pocket books
Is there room for improvement…of course..but lets not draw and quarter all public employees….like Ive said…we are not the enemy…its them, there those people at city hall
Joseph, when things were going well, I still wondered why so many police officers and cars. Where were my taxes really going. I have 2 officers living across from me. The fact that the police cars are sitting across from us almost 24 hours did not deter the 3 houses that were broken into. Two across from the police cars and one behind. It’s not just police officers it’s all government employees. Have you ever tried to pay a bill or get information at a government office? It’s pulling teeth. 9″ nails don’t help on the keyboard either nor does an attitude. I spent 2 hours waiting for an answer to a permit because I had to get through their breaks and something else that happened with their computer. Is there a reason no one knows enough to tell you to come back another day? Basically, no common sense. Why don’t I go to these meetings and complain? Because I seem to be working most of the time (good times or not). Vacations are out. We pick up two days here and there throughout the year – prepaid.
You chose to put your life in danger not me so we each made our decision. There are pros and cons. Mind you, I still work. No I’m not 110 or even near retirement so my road ahead is still long. However, if I make it to the stars, it will not be by forcing the public’s hand to support me like ins. companies, pharmaceuticals, banks and gas companies do. No matter how much they want to charge for their services or products, they do and we have to accept it. It’s the only time gouging is apparently “legal”. Granted, it’s not your fault. You wanted to become a police officer and that’s fine. You lucked out and got perks. However, the state officials should know that at some point, it is going to be an unaffordable situation as it is now and has been in the past. It was sure to backfire at some point. Thanks to the recession (which I don’t like) it has forced all of us to take a better look at ourselves and our surroundings. We need to look at our government with a magnifying glass as we are having to do the same for ourselves. It’s a hard lesson to learn. Some people might call it growing pains. As a community and a country, we need to get back to basics.
As for being on your way home and getting a call, how about letting the next shift take over with the police vehicle you just dropped off at the station? After all, your shift is over…let the other guy do his job.
Joseph’s perspective is clearly not that of the typical American, which is why he can’t seem to relate. Most Americans are happy to have a job at all. Meanwhile Joseph complains that he didn’t get a raise last year so therefore he should get a really big one this year. Its called being completely out of touch.
Dennis, that’s the problem. Most people, mostly those who are employeed by big corps and/or have government positions seem to be living in fantasyland. No concept of what it is really like to run a business or a country. It is this type of mentality I fear the most especially when it comes to electing officials both state and federal.
Gladys, its no longer people who work in “big corps”; the days of going to work for a bank and having a cushy job for life are over. Its exactly the reason that the political machine is so intent on expanding government jobs and union membership; those are the only cushy jobs left. (By cushy I mean a job where you just have to show up to have continued employment, and where you get raises even if you’re not very good at your job). The real problem is that things have been turned upside down; Joseph should be getting paid less in salary because of his job security and benefits. “Cushy” jobs should pay less than merit-based jobs, because of the cushiness factor. This always was the case in the past with teachers and government workers. Now, government workers make more than private sector employees and still receive outlandish benefits and pensions. Its one of the reasons that the small government movements are gaining so much traction. We’ve lost our way and things have to be put back into perspective and corrected.
Dennis
Not once do I recall complaining that I did not get a raise nor do I feel entitled to get another. Like I stated…just stating, went two years without one nor did I complain. I feel very fortunate to have a job for 19+ years that has great pay and benefits. I know you dont believe it but I do work hard, I give it my all and demand perfection from myself. I am there to serve my customer, you the taxpayer. For too long I have been yelling at my coworkers that a revolt is brewing becuase of the perception of our pay/benefits and laziness/apathy/entitlement. And here it is…an all out assault on public sector employees.
Gladys in ref to the cars, we used to do that years ago, and time after time it was proven that it is not cost effective…let me ask you this…if you were just a victim of a crime, your child drowned… wouldnt it stink to know I could of helped but couldnt cause I didnt have a police car?
Gladys…I agree with ya….Firstly I LOVE MY JOB and it pains me when public sector employees treat our customer (the Public) bad…makes everyone of us guilty by association. This is why I chose to live and work in my community…a sense of ownership..NOT ON MY WATCH
As far as the future, we do need to change, we do need to scrutinize govt and their spennding
I just feel that no matter what I Blog, everyone will always assail it, attack it nor listen to it….
Ho Hum
You didn’t complain; you used it as a justification. My bad.
I suggest that you stop trying to scare people into thinking that they should pay more for your perks and benefits, because thats why there is so much opposition to your position. How many drowning babies have you saved in your career when you were off-duty? I’m guessing zero. I don’t expect off-duty police to respond when there’s an issue; I expect on-duty police to respond. People are tired of law enforcement authorities telling us we have to pay up or be engulfed in crime in the same way we’re tired of educators telling us that if we don’t pony up our kids will have to walk to school or do without sports programs. We’ve just had enough of the BS. Stop wasting money instead.
Dennis
Ive come to the realization no matter what I say will never be enough except to give back my salary, pension and benefits and work for free
BTW – we are always on duty, you really should get a tad more educated as to what our job responsibilities are departmentally and statutorily. And for the record, no I havent saved a drowning baby off duty but have caught criminals, assisted at wrecks, given CPR off duty and NEVER asked for a dime or accolades…all public servants do it because that is WHAT we do. Ive never said it will be the wild west if we dont hire cops or get raises….just dont BITCH when you have to wait a longer time for a cop to show up when your neighbors leaves fall into your yard and you cant be civil enough to work itout without police assistance(Yes…that was a real call…LOL)
Hate to tell you that as far as pensions, they are locked in pretty much at whatever level they’re at now and wont increase which is fine.
The new hires are the ones who will get less.
Look at what Grestas did on the way out the door…he gave the higher ups lucrative pay contracts…once again…whos watching??? More so whos bitching about that.
1 more thing…..everyone has asked us to reign it in..what about the politicians who are making ridiculous salaries/expenses and alot of them for a part time job! never heard them reduce or rollback or give back their salaries to help
Joseph- I agree about the greed that exists in our City Management; the fact that Gretsas signed new hiring contracts for many of his cronies (and at higher salary levels which our Mayor was clueless about) shows how bad the problem has become. Most of these “management” types like Bain and Hebert should have been fired years ago; they only muck up the operations of many of the Departments. I don’t believe that the population in general or anyone posting here “has it out” for police and fire. But when police and fire folks fight any discussion about redcuing costs or salaries (across the board), it gives the impression that these folks are more interested in serving themselves than the community.
A better response (not necessarily from you but from police and fire folks in general) would be to acknowledge that: 1: The economy is in the tank and will probably get worse, 2: All city employees and management (including police and fire) are continuing to receive raises when they should not, 3: That police and fire are willing to do their part to help reduce the City’s out-of-control spending.
If that kind of response came from police and fire, we would not have this kind of confrontation that we see here.
Earl
I guess I meant off-shift. But your response indicates that you’ll never quite get it.
Earl,
Regarding 1), Perhaps we can’t be sure that the economy will get worse, but its a sure thing that city and state government budgets will be challenging for the foreseeable future. Its simply not responsible to be giving 5% raises to anyone for any reason UNLESS you’re also trimming staff, whether it be by attrition or layoffs.
Earl
Great response
In my city…they are not raising taxes, no services have been cut, the medians/parks run and look great, there is plenty of $ in reserves so I guess that is why we are going to get a 3% raise this year.
I do agree Ft lauderdale is a different situation. I also do agree with you on #1 & 3. As far as #2, the biggest problem is that there is $ there…usually plenty but take a look at any citys CAFR and youll see the sheel game they do with the finances. Inmy city is mind boggling. You cant keep heads nor tails.
How do i as a city employee, when i take the time to pour over the CAFR and see $40 million in Reserves not ask why did you raise my taxes the last 5 years during the boom and ask/get a tax increase…now that is criminal…
Dennis…youve proved your point…no matter what I say you will bash me..and yes I was off shift/duty/in civilian clothes…by the way…do you really hate cops or all public employees?…And you sir will never get it in my eyes…so I guess we are even. In last response to your post..in my city weve attritioned out 10-15 cops in the last 3 years…so my question to you Dennis…is that enough to start now giving raises?
No Joseph, the only thing I’ve proved it that you’re not capable of understanding this issue.
Dennis at the rate we are going, those cushy jobs are only to be had with government and whatever unions are left as a result of the job market. I’d like to know where is the money to support this coming from?
If you stop to analyze the “big picture” what exactly are Americans going to do for a job in the near or distant future? Explain it to me if I’m wrong. The way I see it, we are either going to sell foreign products to each other or sell insurance to each other. That’s pretty much all that is left in the way of work in the US. We cannot manufacture a single thing. Not even a pin at a profit. We used to after the depression. It’s how we got back on our feet. How are we going to do it this time? One reason we cannot manufacture is because of insurances and unions. Not only does the corp. have to pay ourlandish premiums (workmans, liability, health and finally taxes) for all this but we have to pay our employees well too. Why? Because they too have insurances to pay. Car, home and health. It’s a big chunk of their salaries. So, say you are paying someone $15 p/h, you are really paying out about $30 in the end. How much is left for profit? Is it worth it? Sometimes I wonder……this is why I say we have to get back to basics. Restructure our way of thinking and stop accepting threats from the special interest groups. Our politians have to stop this too. They scare off everytime ins. says they need another 10% increase. Actually, Citizens ins. is complaining they only got a 10% increase. On the news they explained what they really need considering this is such an “active hurricane season” huh ????? is to double the premiums!!!! How about that? And so on and so forth. Whether it be hospitals, oil (watch out for this BP oil spill and next year’s gas hike…I hope I’m wrong), and banks have already stuck to it us. This mentality is on the local level and the federal level.
On average, homeowners pay $1.36 a day to fund a full time fire department including salaries and benefits. If you have a smart phone you pay on average $3.33 a day for your phone. That phone won’t save your life, perform CPR, protect your property, cut you out of your mangled car at 3am, or get burned.
P.S. Incase you didnt notice, 2 Miami Dade police officers, 2 St. Petersburg officers and countless others were recently shot dead in the line of duty doing the same job that our police officers do everyday. The stakes have gone up and it is more dangerous than ever for these officers now… Ill pay $10 a day if I have to so they are compensated for the work they do!! They are worth every penny and deserve more than what they get. I dont understand why you cant just leave police and fire alone and be thankful. They are not the problem. Believe me they are taking plenty of cuts. The problem is all of these rediculous expensive projects these cities are doing and the overpaid managers etc. Believe me, I see what you’re trying to do here, but, there are other ways to cut budgets than to attack those who protect us…
Sounds to me like you’re either a marketing guy or a union guy; (“…$1.36 a day….”). Sure, when you look at it that way it doesn’t sound like a lot.
But when you look at the totals, it is scary. Over $300 million in unfunded pension liability here in Fort Lauderdale, police and fire folks who can retire in their 40′s with full pensions then take a new position with a new City and start all over again, with taxpayers footing the bill; police and fire management who earn over $100K per year, starting salaries here that are more than the AVERAGE salary of a Ft Lauderdale resident; cities that have become bankrupt because of the pension liability anchor around their neck, etc. etc.
The fact is the citizenry can no longer afford the lavish perks we give to our municipal employees. We have created with our municipal emplyees (like in most cities in the US), a sense of “entitlement” with annual pay raises, bonuses and other perks which we can no longer afford. We are not “bashing police and fire”. The job they do is (in most cases) exemplary. But it does not change the fact that we need them to share the pain that most non-municipal workers are having to deal with today-
Earl
Great insight. Thanks for posting and allowing comments.