An incident happened one night last week at the Publix in the Skylake Mall. I was on my way to the checkout line when I heard a commotion at the front of the store. A man a wheelchair (no, it wasn’t you-know-who) was being verbally abusive to the lady behind the customer service desk. After a few minutes she called the police. Undeterred, the man kept screaming at her, calling her all kinds of names while the store’s armed security guard stood next to him, waiting for the cops to come. I assume the guard would have had to act if the man became physically violent, but luckily all he did was rant, rave and cause a scene.
It took at least ten long minutes for the cops to get there, probably closer to fifteen, although I couldn’t be sure. The cops managed to get the man outside, where he started to abusively berate them, too. Chances are this man was not in his right mind. Fortunately, I was finished shopping and I left before I saw the outcome of the situation.
Due to our crazy boundary lines, parts of Skylake are in the city limits of North Miami Beach, but the Skylake Mall is not; it’s located in unincorporated Miami-Dade County. When the police are called to the Mall, the county cops respond. The North Miami Beach police are sometimes called for back up, but they are not the first responders.
I was quite concerned about the length of time it took for the MDPD to arrive, and all I could think was that if NMB cops had been called they probably would have been on the scene in well under five minutes, not ten or fifteen. (At least that used to be the case, but more on that in a minute.)
I’m not sure how dire a situation was reported to the police on the phone, but I imagine that any similar situation is assumed to be life threatening. I have no idea if the man had a gun or had intentions of using one, if provoked. This man was obviously either provoked, or flat out crazy. Either way, it could have ended very badly.
There are some residents in North Miami Beach who believe that we don’t need our own police department. I disagree. I’ve come to believe that in addition to an honest group of elected officials, an experienced city manager and a well run staff, an excellent police department is essential to running a successful municipality. There are some exceptions to this rule. In Broward County, for example, the police departments are all run by the Broward Sheriff’s office, but each city has its name on the cop cars. Miami Lakes also seems to do well with county police service. But here in northeast Miami-Dade County, with each city abutting the next, and only strips of unincorporated territory between them, the MDPD would obviously be spread too thin. In this area, it appears best that every city should have its own police department. Depending on how the department is run, it can be a boon to the city, or a nightmare.
I hate to keep bringing up Opa-locka, but since its police department has been in the news in the last couple of weeks and it’s hard to ignore. Random Pixels published yet another great blog again yesterday (gotta see the recruitment poster!) about just how horrific The Worst Little PD in Florida has become. Or, was it ever a good one? Doubt it.
A highly respected veteran member of the North Miami Police Department explained to me that when it comes to Opa-locka, absolutely no one of quality wants to work there. Because of the brutal working conditions, low pay and corruption, they have no choice but to scrape the bottom of the barrel of applicants. He said, “In Opa-locka, they get what they pay for, and sometimes they just get what they get.”
What a scathing review!
Unfortunately, he continued by telling me that the way things are going in North Miami Beach, our PD is slowly sliding into Opa-locka territory. Because of the budget cuts in the last fiscal year and the stalled contract negotiations, NMB has lost far too many of our most highly qualified police officers. The word out on the “police beat” is that North Miami Beach is one of the last places to which new recruits send in their applications. That’s pretty sad considering that it used to be the most desirable and prestigious department in the county.
One of the biggest NMB losses was Detective Jodi Schuster, who resigned after our city’s lauded and much needed Gang Unit was disbanded. Even if we manage to reinstate a Gang Unit, as is the hope of many residents, it will be hard to fill Detective Schuster’s shoes in terms of knowledge and experience.
Another problem that has been brought to my attention is that, as a result of budget cuts, NMBPD response times have been slowed due to, among other things, a lack of manpower. I submitted a public records request for changes in response times in the last two years, but I have not yet received a response. I’ll post those findings when I do.
Neither I, nor any other resident, is privy to the discussions regarding contract negotiations that take place in council executive sessions. As a result, we are only hearing one side of the story from members of the police department. Several cops have told me that the department has offered up a multitude of concessions, all of which have been rejected by the city manager. The city manager isn’t being forthcoming about the details, either. The city had proposed a contract more than a year ago when Lyndon Bonner was still at the helm and it was posted online at citynmb.com. It’s my understanding that it has been since removed. All we do know is that the contract negotiations have gone to an impasse and they will be heard by an arbitrator.
Unlike some other more outspoken residents, I don’t tell my elected officials what to do. I politely express my opinion when I feel the need, either before or after a vote, but (other than the Dynamic Duo of Phyllis and Phrantz) I never berate them. Whether or not I or anyone else agrees with legislative decisions, I truly believe that, unlike the crew at North Miami City Hall, the majority of them are not corrupt. I am convinced that at least the remaining five council members are doing what they believe is best for the city as a whole.
That being said, I wish someone up there would give us a clue about their true intentions regarding our Police Department. They may have very justifiable reasons for doing whatever it is they’re doing, but the view from the peanut gallery is dim. It has become extremely difficult to defend their actions to those cops who are anxious about their future in North Miami Beach.
Yes, the budget and financial viability of our city is extremely important. But it’s equally important to have a quality police department. If morale continues to be dismal among the cops and the residents can’t reasonably expect the same high quality police service that we’ve grown accustomed to receiving, someone at City Hall needs to start figuring out how to fix the problem.
I’m not about to comment on contract or pension negotiations because I’m not in the loop. I just wish someone who is would at least fill us in and reveal the master plan for the future of NMB.
Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”
The negotiations between the city and union are public form. All can attend. It’s laughable in these meetings. The org attorney actually said “were not here to give you anything, were just gonna take”. Our jaws dropped!!! It’s so bad that we even offered to pay the city’s cost for fuel and upkeep of the cars, their respond “NO!!”an important arbitrary meeting is scheduled for May 1st or 2nd, it’s open to the public. Would be nice to see you there so you can see for yourself how the city is treating us. Our union prz could give you the exact dat and time. Thanks for all you do.
I think our police department is the most important service that our municipality can provide. If we don’t have safety, everything else well fall into an abyss of unpleasantry. We need to keep the police department and we need to value it. If we do not have a police department that we value, I am worried that NMB will to turn into a Little Chicago. Just look around you.
The police department has lost more then just Det. Schuster. It has lost numerous young aggressive officers to other Cities such as Coral Gables and Aventura. Aventura was able to grab two of our young officers recently, one who’s family had been working in the police department since the early 1980’s. All these officers had extensive training and time invested in them by North Miami Beach and now other Cities are getting the benefits. All of these officers left because they were on the layoff list and because their prospects were bleak at North Miami Beach. What the North Miami ofiicer told you is 100 percent true. The North Miami Beach police department is fast becoming another Opa-Locka.
Everything you said about the state of our PD could also be said about the rest of the staff, what with budget cuts, benefit reductions, attrition, the proposed extreme pension changes, stalled contract negotiations and, most of all, the overwhelming impression that most of those on the dais consider the city’s employees, at every level, as parasites that need to be eradicated. I think their intentions are very clear: to either outsource as much as possible and/or bust the unions, push out anyone with experience (and therefore making “too much” money) and replace them with cheaper new hires. It sure looks good on paper. In reality some very valuable, experienced employees have already left, and their shoes have not been filled. Fewer and fewer qualified candidates even apply for the positions. NMB in general, not just the PD, seems to already have a reputation as an undesirable place to work.
Oh the Drama! The City Council wants to “eradicate” all city employees. The sky is falling…the sky is falling….. Make up some more stuff while you’re at it. The City Council is doing exactly what it has to do to get the city back on track after years of salary and pension give-aways that have left the city broke with no funds left for re-developement.
There has not been ONE DOLLAR taken from any city employee, no paycuts, and no loss in days in vacation time, sick time or their birthday off. They have been asked, just like the rest of the residents have to do, is pay for a portion of their health insuranceThe police lsot their take-home cars which was never a condition of employment anyway.
The residents should balance everything they hear from the police union and certain residents that the police have convinced that the city is going to hell with the fact that the NMB police union contract is one of the most lucritive in the entire U.S. No where else can a police officer retire after 20 years of service and then work another 8 years collecting both his paycheck and retirement check and then being paid 8% interest on his retirement check on top of that. Please understand that this expensive pension plan is eating up over 20% of the entire city budget and growing. If the city Council doesn’t get a handle on the rising cots, there may be even more layoffs. Putting this in perspective, the top four “retired” police officers still employed with the NMBPD are receiving over $40,000 a year in interest on their money that previous Cioty Councils guaranteed to them. Now that those previous guarantees are no longer sustainable, the police want to criticize the Mayor and council for them asking for adjustments ion the pension plan. The Police are on a P.R. campaign to try and get as many citizens involved as possible to champion their cause. Understand most of the police officers live in Broward County and really could care less aboyut the impact of whatever their pensions cost to the residents of NMB.
The neighborhood retard has spoken!!
I never said the sky was falling. I was expressing my opinion that the majority of our elected officials view the employees as parasites. I think their comments, and initiatives, make this attitude clear. Neither did I make anything up. Many non-police employees have had their time-off benefits reduced. They also lost take-home cars and family health insurance, which, for most of them, resulted in a take-home pay reduction of about $500 per month. I would not call that being asked to make a contribution toward health insurance. I would call that a serious reduction in compensation. And what exactly do you think is a condition of employment? If you apply for a job and are offered a compensation package, and you accept the job based upon that offer, is that not a condition of employment?
Please join the union for an open forum to discuss these issues. The mis-information has got to stop. All you are doing is setting this city back many of years. This is your city and you can make a difference. Knowledge is power! I can pass ssome of the knowledge that you lack…
Actually what the city’s attorney said at the negotiations was “I have my marching orders from the Mayor & Council, were not here to give you anything, were here to take”. This was even after we found 10 million in savings that the city saved this past year (they admitted to nearly 4 million).
Another bloviation by Stephanie!
Yep, that’d be me. Good to know who my friends are.
Good to know where you stand on your friends’ (or acquaintances) taxing districts, where they were very happy until the redevelop/incorporate groupies reappeared.
I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.
Hmmm!! Okay, what planet is he/she from???
I can see all the comments on here are one sided. No one has proposed doing away with the NMBPD. As far as our best police offcers going to other agencies, blame the 30 or so retired police officers in the DROP plan who would not vote for concessions to keep them. As far as the unions offering to pay for gas for the take home cars, their total offer to the city for the take home cars was like $20 or $25 a week. Almost all the cops live in Broward and the $20 a week in gas barely pays for one days worth, let alone all the other expenses involved in maintianing a car like oil, tires, and insurance liability.
I saw in a previous blog where one of the NMB police officers “In the Know” stated it now costs him $800 a month to make the trip in his own car. Any wonder why the city rejected the $110 a month offer from the union? As far as pay cuts, not one NMB police officer has taken ANY paycuts since they have been working for the City, including the 30 or so retired police officers in the DROP that are receiving double paychecks, i.e. their retirement check and their paycheck concurrently.
Lets not even get into the issue of the 8% guarantee on the retirement checks that no other city offers. All other cities use an outside 457 Pension Plan that makes the retiree responsible for their own rate of return once the monthly check leaves the city’s pension plan . NMB is the only city I know that guarantees retirement checks placed into a separate savings account will receive 8% interest guaranteed by the city.While 8% might seem low now, it was extremely high in the past ten years.
Finally, it’s unfair for you use the response time of one call to make a judgement on the response times for an entire department on every call . NMBPD has had its share of slow responses times on some calls and we don’t badmouth them for those few times that happens. My experience overall with MDPD has been a very good one on the few times that I have had to call them for assistance.
The bottom line is that there is just so much money to go around and the police department takes up the majpority of the city’s entire budget due in large part to the extremely lucrative pension plan terms and the DROP costs. This is the same probelm that is occurrring arpound the entire country and why there are reforms going on everywhere.
When the property values dropped and property tax revenue was cut in half, where is the city supposed to get the money to conitnue paying for perks that can’t be funded.
If you only take into cionsideration the police officers comments in this discuassion, you can see why the Council is having such a difficult job in dealing with the pension issues.
an aside about gangs,
a friend of mine once wanted to start a small business selling customized skateboards under the moniker Shogun, and he had a few boards out in use by his friends.
Shogun was later put on that Gang list, I wonder if it was one of the 13 operating in NMB.
That’s kinda funny. However, I attended two presentations by the Gang Unit, and they were extremely well informed by actual gangs and their various tags, hand gestures, “uniforms,” etc. The members of the unit also had quite a few informants inside the different gangs, so they pretty much knew who most of them were. The unit was very good at being able to identify each of the specific gangs in the area, and precisely what crimes each were capable of committing. I’m telling you, these cops were really sharp. Their presentation was an eye opening experience.
There’s a difference between noting the response time of the MDPD on that particular call and “making a judgment call” on the entire department. I happen to think the county police department is one of the best in the state, maybe the country. The problem is that Skylake Mall is fairly far from the nearest county police station, which is why it took them longer. My only point, in case I wasn’t clear, is that NMBPD’s station is less than 2 minutes away, but because of the carved out boundary lines, that mall is not in our territory. The county has a tough job navigating all the “doughnut holes” in our area. I will tell you, though, that my personal experience with NMBPD is that I have never had to wait more than ten minutes when I call them, unless I specify it’s a non-emergency. I have lived here over 23 years, and this has ALWAYS been the case. Maybe others have not been so fortunate, but this has been my experience.
Lets try this again Shirlie Duffie. This is a perfect explanation from an earlier blog. If your anything like “Bob White” I won’t expect you to understand it. But, give it a shot and read it a few times.
What “Bob White” is mentioning is the guaranteed 8% return, but his comments appear to be that of a “low-information” citizen so lets discuss this. Yes, the current DROP members are getting a guaranteed 8% return, but when that 8% return was negotiated, the economy was great and the city was making money by investing the officers retirement check. Essentially it was a win win. During the collapse of the economy, the officers were getting their 8% return and the city was forced to contribute to the DROP plan to make up for any shortfalls. Now the economy is turning around (slowly), the city is once again making money off the officers retirement check (2% was the last i heard). Now there’s a lot of people in this city that are trashing the officers for negotiating this deal, when at the time, the city was more than happy to agree. The benefit of the drop plan is to keep seasoned officers around without losing their experience to other agencies. It also allows for the city to stop their contribution to that particular officers retirement plan. One aspect of not having a DROP plan is an Officer can stay 25, 30, 35+ years as long as he/she is fit for duty. To use myself as an example, my current retirement check will be about $48-50k if I leave at 20 years. If there’s no DROP, I plan on staying somewhere between 25-30 years. If I stay 30 years, my retirement check will be somewhere near $75-80k a year. Staying an extra 10 years (with no DROP) will require the city to contribute 10 more years to my retirement and pay me more $ when I decide to retire. Whereas with the DROP, the city would stop contributing to my pension at year 20 and would continue to make money off my retirement check (as long as the economy continues to improve of course). Now as far as the 8% return goes, we as a UNION are trying to negotiate with the city to come up with a better plan to help the city financially and be beneficial to the Officer. We’re not expecting an 8% return, nor are we expecting an 8 year DROP plan. The problem were having is the city isn’t negotiating ANYTHING. If you’ve attended the negotiations, you’ll see that were trying to negotiate with the city and its like talking to a wall. The problem with this is if the city gets rid of the DROP plan, you’ll have officers staying longer in the pension system, costing the city more money towards pension contribution, and paying out more when the Officer leaves. Now tell me how thats good for the city and it’s citizens?
Now it is a gamble. If the economy takes another dump, as the DROP is currently set up, the city would have to put forth the 8%, but if the economy continues to improve, the city would be putting out nothing and making somewhere near 2% or more (again, if improvement continues). As I previously mentioned, were trying to lower that percentage so the city continues to make more and the Officer still benefits from entering the DROP.
Now “Bob White” is making a few jabs at some units in this agency and I’m not gonna even entertain that. He has no stats to back his statements, he’s making false statements, and its obvious he’s a “low-Information” citizen. What this city needs to decide is if it’s beneficial for them to keep the DROP (officer has no choice but to leave after 8 years) and negotiate a reasonable plan thats works for all or do they just get rid of it keeping officers here the same amount of time but having the burden of contributing to their pension, 5, 10, 15+ more years.
We appreciate all citizens who continue to support us and we urge any citizen that wants information about our benefits, pay, pension, crime stats, current work conditions, etc, to just ask US and not the neighbor. As “Bob White” has pointed out, being a “low-information” citizen just ruins your credibility.
Thank you Stephanie for this blog.
Opa-Locka’s new slogan: “Turned downed by McDonald’s or Wackenhut? That’s OK, we’ll take you!”
ROLFMAO! Actually I shouldn’t laugh. We’ll probably end up getting Opa-locka’s rejects.
1-The city gave us their cost to maintain the cars, we split that per Officer per week and came up with the #. But we don’t expect you to know that becuse you seem like one that gets their information from the “neighor”, or as most americans are, low-information voters.
2-When the city is saving millions a year, why would you want to cut our pay. One word, HATER!!!
3-There we go with the DROP again, you want to compare our DROP to the world, but not our pay and benefits. Now thats agenda driven if i ever seen it.
4-When you educate yourself on what it is we make (pay, pension, beneits) as compared to surrounding agencies and COMPARE it all (there we go with that word again) then maybe your comments will be taken seriously.
1. Please tell the public how muich you offered to pay for your take home to Broward County police car on a monthly basis.
2. Please tell the residents where the city is saving “Millions” of dollars a year. If you mean by laying off the 17 police officers, the reason they layed them off is becasue the city didn’t have the money to pay them. Why else would they lay them off? Another made-up fairy tale by low-intelligence hardcore union police officers.
3. Please tell the residents how low your pay is compared to the surrounding cities and, if it so low, why are you still here?……all I hear is crickets.
4. I have researched what you make compared to surrounding cities. Please re-read number 3 above.
When you can get serious about how much you are really makiing and the cost of your benefits that you receive, maybe you would be taken more seriously.
To all of the cop haters (you know who you are),
The police budget is larger than all the rest of the departments at NMB because all police budgets are larger than sanitation or public works, so for the haters to suggest that NMB police are being overpaid because the budget is larger than trash collection is stupid and deliberately misleading.
You could dissolve your police department and hire the MDPD to handle calls for police service in NMB and it would still cost you far more than sanitation or public works. Police protection is always going to be the most expensive item on any budget. You must pay police more than you pay public works and the police department operates 24/7/365 and requires a ton of support personnel. Pay your cops like trash collectors and you are guaranteed to become the next Opa Locka.
The question is not how much does the average NMB police officer make as compared to a public works employee, but rather how much does the average NMB police officer make as compared to the average police officer in a neighboring agency.
MDPD officers have take-home cars they can use for personal use for just $25/week.
MDPD has a pension to which officers contribute just 3%. For years they paid nothing. We pay 11.1%. That is nearly four times as much. We have an 8-year DROP. They have a 5-year DROP. We get 8% interest. They get just 1.5%. For years they got 6.5%. So we get more, but we also pay a lot more.
And now with the layoffs and the elimination of the specialized units, MDPD has a big advantage over the NMBPD. Cops can only be cops for so long before age makes it impossible, so they have to acquire a skill during their career that translates into something marketable after they leave. The MDPD offers an almost countless variety of opportunities; different functions and units that can make an ex-police officer more attractive to a would-be employer after their career in law enforcement ends. NMB has no such claim. A career spent in NMB, as it currently stands, all but guarantees a 20 year career spent on the road answering calls for service. That qualifies one to stock shelves at Publix or to sell paint at Home Deport but not much else.
So please do tell, where do I have it wrong? How is NMB so highly paid and/or overly compensated as compared to other police departments? Please be specific. Please tell me what an NMB police officer gets that no one else does? Please tell me how an NMB police officer has it so much better than their peers in other agencies?
And finally, and perhaps most importantly, how does the NMB police department compare to other agencies? Are they better, worse or the same? I say we are as good if not better than the rest, but then….I am biased.
Oh “Shirley Duffie”!!! Your starting to sound like the village retard, “Bob White”. He’s given us years of entertainment with nothing but wrong and spitefully misleading information. I’m gonna give you the benefit of the doubt since your new to these comments and your statements appear to be that of a “low-information” commenter.
1-Your asking us to tell the public how much we offered to pay for the take home cars. Our contract meetings are open to the public so we’ve already done that and for anyone wanting to attend to hear. You didn’t give the amount so it’s obvious you don’t know yourself (not surprising). Do you know the amount the city advised the union what it cost to maintain the cars? My guess is you don’t or you would have wrote it. They advised it cost around $11,000/month (give or take). Do you know what the officers offered to pay the city for the cars? My guess again is you don’t or you would of wrote it. So let me help you out and lets do the math, $11,000 x 12 months = $132,000. Now $132,000/100 Officers = $1,320. Now $1320/52 weeks = $25.38. See your learning something, Thats $25.38 per week per Officer to maintain the cars. How much did the Union offer the city to pay for the cars? My guess once again is you don’t know or you would have wrote it. Well, i’m not gonna tell you either. All I will say is we offered more than $25.38 per week per Officer. If you can tell me what we offered the city and you still feel like its a bad business decision for the city then you obviously aren’t too business savy. And before #1 is done, you’ve assumed every Officer lives in Broward County, do you know the saying about assuming things. If you don’t, ask the neighbor who gives you all your information.
2-So know the city saving “millions” of dollars a year is false. I’m not going to post the city’s finances on this site, you can do that yourself with a little research. I love the “low-intelligence hardcore union police officers” comment. Oh yeah were so hard core, lol! We have a union to protect our rights during police involved shootings and negotiating contracts with the city. So the police force and one attorney, yup that about sums up our Union. What part of the “hardcore” is that??
Yes the city layed off 17 cops. We offered 9% in concessions that year which would have saved 9 Officers from being layed off. City’s response “Nahhhh”, we’ll just get rid of 17. What good does that do for the city and its citizens, please fill me in.
3-We never said our pay is low, you said that. You want to compare us to other cities so we say, compare. Seems you only want to compare when it’s convenient for your mis-leading propaganda. crickets, crickets!!
4-So what is it that we do make?? What do other city officers make?? What are our benefits?? What are the benefits of other city officers?? Tell us about all your “research” since your so in to “comparing” our pay, benefits, pension, DROP. I’m trying not to treat you like “Bob White” but its kind of hard because you haven’t given one piece of information to back your statements. Remember this “Knowledge is Power” so stop selling your self short “Shirley Duffie”.
As always, thanks Stephanie for allowing us to have healthy debates on your site. I just wish the posters would actually provide true and correct information.
By the way, I have a power point presentation and audio tapes off the meetings with the city. I will be MORE then happy to provide you with copies. I will need you to reveal your TRUE identity. Again, my name is Richard Rand and I am the Union President.
If yo would like to meet and discuss your thoughts, I am available any time. I am the “Union” President and it sounds like you have the wrong information. I doubt very much that you are who you say you are. If so, I am extending an open invitation to meet with you over a cup of coffee.
Please support the NMBPD. Change is what we need, NOT negative comments that do nothing. Thanks again.
Let me start by introducing myself so that everyone who reads this knows who I am. My name is Richard Rand and I am the current IUPA President for NMBPD. I have been working for NMBPD for about 16 ½ years. I am currently a Sergeant assigned to the afternoon shift. I was born and raised on South Glades Drive and I lived in this city until age 10. My mother was the Charge Nurse at Osteopathic General Hospital about 40 years ago (before it became Nova). The first school I attended was “The Little White School House” (In NMB) and my first job ever was at the Greyhound Bus Depot which was on the corner of Biscayne Boulevard and NE 163 Street. I am a true NMB home town kid. I have ALWAYS wanted to work for NMBPD because they had the “coolest” cops around. I can remember growing up waiving to the police cars as they drove down South Glades Drive. I was and I still am proud to have been born in this city and work in this city.
I became the IUPA President in May of 2012. My vision from the start was to do the best for the officers and the residents. From the beginning, I stepped into a mess with a crippled economy, an unstable relationship with city officials and a strained relationship with city managers. It was time to change the way things were being done and said.
Like many other cities, we are facing financial challenges. We had many good years where things were great for many of us. Yet, years of wasteful spending along with poor management and poor planning has burdened this city with massive debts.
So where do we start first? Let’s look at the police pension. We currently have a 20 year retirement system in which an Officer can go into the drop after the completion of 20 years. The current plan has a 3% multiplier each year so that at the completion of 20 years, you retire with 60% of your best 5 years. Then comes the 8 year drop program. The drop extends your ability to work for an addition 8 years. The city has “AGREED” to an 8% guaranteed rate while in the drop. This was all mutually agreed upon between the employees and the city.
The city has not put money away for the “rainy” days and did not plan for the stock market to crash and crush the city. No one had a vision nor planned for the future. Today, we have a pension plan that is under funded by millions of dollars. So, I ask two questions, Number 1, What has the City done to fix this problem? Number 2, What has the Union done to fix this problem? The answer to Number 1 is; Layoffs and parking the police cars behind an eight foot wall. The answer to number 2; Three years ago, the “Union” suggested a second tier for new employees which would have saved millions of dollars had it been implemented back then. NOTHING was done at all!
Since I became President, I have offered a reduction in the multiplier, offered to cut the drop term in half, and lower the 8% rate of return that everyone loves to talk about. The rate would be set at 1% and would not go any higher than 6% (Rate tied into the market). For those of you who don’t know, the police pension plan made over 18% last year. Anyway, this change would save millions of dollars and more importantly we would still attract very good candidates that DREAM to work for this city. We also offered to increase our already high contribution (11.1%) to ease the city’s burden. None of these offers were accepted. Remember these benefits were negotiated long ago and both parties agreed to them. The “Union” has also offered a Work Shop which would be for the residents to share ideas for pension reform. The “Union” offered to share the cost.
Let’s talk about the contract. The “Union” has agreed to 90% of the contract. Which includes, a major cut back in overtime (savings of about $500,000/year), agreed to no birthday leave and no more floating holidays (savings of about $70,000/year), agreed to pay a higher contribution toward the health insurance, agreed to pay $27.50 a week per Officer for the cars. Just to clarify, the city spends about $120,000 a year for fuel, tires and maintenance for the police fleet. At $27.50 per Officer the city would get back approximately $118,800.00 in return. That’s a difference of $2,200.00 (It’s not about the money). Also just to clarify something, we have not had an Officer (AT FAULT) involved in an accident on his/her way home that cost the city a DIME. We agreed to raise the off-duty rate with the understanding that the city would keep the increase, not the Officer. We agreed to give up our longevity pay which equates to approximately $40,000 a year. Overall, we have agreed to cut about 1 million dollars out of our contract. This does not take into account the 17 layoffs that have saved the city 2.5 million dollars.
We have had 11 contract meetings with the city and it seems that we are negotiating with ourselves. We do not even call it negotiating any more we call it collective begging. All of the meetings have been audio recorded if anyone is interested in listening. The city has even admitted that this negotiation is, “not about giving, it’s about taking”.
I believe that what has happened in the past does not work in today’s economy. We have people in our own back yard that can’t afford to put food on their tables and some don’t even know what a pension is. Most of us (NMBPD Officers) are very proud of the work that we do. We are proud to put on our uniform and come to work. We appreciate all of the residents that support us and we will continue to provide a safe community, but we fear that we are losing our ability to attract and to retain well-qualified Officers unless there is a drastic change in the administrative course we are heading right now. Smart cuts are needed. Cuts that do not compromise the safety of the citizens nor the ability of the police department to protect them. A change of course is needed, before it’s too late.
The time has come to stop “kicking the can down the road” and start working together. Please support your Police Department. I am available for anyone that wants to meet and discuss contract or pensions concerns.
Thank you Sergeant Rand, for such an excellent recap of the current situation. The point I made to Mr. White was that the city is losing the ability to attract and retain quality employees in every department, and in the end, this is penny-wise and pound-foolish. The history of IUPA’s “negotiations” with the current administration illustrates the latter’s intent quite clearly. I am not, as Mr. White contends, saying that the sky is falling. But if things continue on this course, that might indeed happen, or something akin to that. Keep up the good work.
Yours is one of the more articulate comments made and I congradulate you fpor making a very compelling presentation.
But something bothers me abiout the figures you stated and I am hoping you will clarify them in your reply.
You mentioned that the city spent $120,000 on fuel, tires and maintenance last year for police cars. I’m assumming you meant that’s how much the city was paying for the police to take home a car. However, its nearly impossible to drive more than 6 or seven miles from the police station for the $5.50 daily rate you quoted. Of course that doesn’t include the cost of replacing tires and oil changes so where did you get that number from? While I understand you offered the administration $27.50 a week for the take home car, please understand that that amount no in no way covers the cost as you stated. I am a retired accountant and the numbers do not add up.
You also made the statement that “the city AGREED to the 8% DROP rate” and it was mutually agreed upon by, obviously by a different City Council, and my good friend Jules Littman probably came up with that number. You also made mention that the pension plan has been grossly underfunded. I guess the blame for that goes back to my friend Jules again for agreeing to terms that the city could not afford. have you thought about that is the very fact why the City Council is attempting to revise the contract terms so that the pensions can be fully funded?
Of course times were different and apparently there was much more revenue in years past. Now that is not the case. How can you expect the City Council to renew a contract that has as its basis, terms and conditions from over ten years ago.
I’m sure you are aware pensions are being modified or eliminated all across the country as another writer stated so stated so instead of looking what you might be losing in the way of pension terms, you mihgt want to look at it as even though it might be changed, its still a better deal than what private employers are handing out these days.
What really perlexes me is why is the City in the business of managing individuals retirement plans in the first place. Every entity that I know uses independant pension plan administrators to administer employees pensions and 401k’s. Why don’t you and the City agree to move your retirement plans, the one where you get double paychecks, to an outside pesnion plan and the city then no longer has the funding exposure and the employees can pick and choose their level of risk and rewards.
Keep up the good work!
Mr. Silverstein,
First I want to thank you for your support and concern. We really need residents who care to help US get through these tough times. I am going to address your questions one at a time.
First let me talk about the cars. Mr. Bonner made the decision to go to a “pool” car system which saved the city some money. I don’t have the exact figures and it doesn’t really matter at this point. Okay, so approximately 40 marked emergency police cars were pulled off the street and tucked away behind an 8 foot wall and some were even sent to the water plant in Miami Gardens and hidden there. I have photos and the media did a story which you can google. That left the PD with 25 marked “pool” cars that were being used by three shifts. The city used the newer cars to use for this “pool” car system. About 50 EMERGENCY vehicle sat behind a wall for 9 months to save money. Today, all the cars that were once new now have high miles on them and they will need to be replaced in about three years. The rest of the fleet is in poor condition some have over 100,000 miles on them. The $120,000 number was provided to the union about a year and a half ago maybe longer. I researched the figures and I obtained fuel receipts, purchase orders and I spoke with the mechanics about what the costs were with regard to preventative maintenance and other costs. This number of $120,000 is the cost of fuel that was consumed for 75 Officers to take their cars to and from (home and work). Dn’t forget the City does not pay what you and I pay at the pump. Okay, so now we come to $27.50 a week per Officer. I understand that this does not cover the complete cost. They is a trade off. The trade off is more Police on the road to and from and faster response times. Example: I happen to be the supervisor for our Crisis Unit and we respond to situations where people are in crisis and my unit responds and we begin the negotiation process. So, I get a call at 0400 of a man in his home who is refusing to come outside and he is holding a family member hostage. I now have to respond to work in my own car and get into my police car and respond to the scene. I can tell you that seconds count in situations like this. We had an incident where our SWAT team was called out to a very hostile situation and the team leader was pulled over while responding in his own car to save someones life. True this is not a common event but all it takes is one incident and someone loses their life. For many of us now, we have purchased our own cars and we have moved on. This is not about the money. Why is NMB the only city to take away the take home program and layoff 17 officers? Why NMB? Again, Mr. Bonner was brought to this city for a purpose and now he is gone. Do people know the damage that he has done? I invite you to research how much money his decisions has cost the taxpayers. I will help you if you would like. There is 36 agencies in Miami-Dade County. Why would any top recruit want to come to a city that has NO take home vehicle program. I invite you or anyone reading this to drive over to Miami-Dade and ask the future Officers what they think about NMB.
As a retired accountant, you know that the city is not in business to make money off the taxpayers. the cities number ONE priority should be to keep the taxpayers safe and provide them with the services they pay for. Parking 50 emergency police cars behind an 8 foot wall is not good accounting.
I too was friends with Mr. Littman. I will tell you that he was a man of his word. He put the residents first and safety was a priority to him. I am sure that mr. Littman did not make that number up. The reasons are very clear why the drop was extended to 8 years.
Now pension issues. We are in big trouble with the current paln. i for one have been very fortunate to have earned what I have up to now. I agree 100% that we need to fix this. Why hasn’t the city taken the “bull by horns” two years ago and implement a change? If that were the case things would be much better now. Question: How do we change the rules of the game in the middle of the third quarter? Answer; We don’t. We agree to a FAIR deal that benefits the taxpayers first and then the employee. The city is NOW in a full panic state and is pulling the rug out from under our feet. People have made life long choices based on the benefits that were negotiated at the time the contract was signed. The UNION has come to the table with ideas that would change the financial future for the better. We are negotiating with ourselves. The city is just recently giving us feed back as to what they want. I say let’s put everything on the table open this can of worms and make a deal to get us out of this mess. What is going to happen is the city and the union are going to impasse and a contract will be implemented. That’s fine. We are ready for the change. That still leaves the pension issues. What do we do? I have made numerous suggestions to the city and the city has made it clear that they want to impose. I believe their minds made up at this point. I am very concerned that if the future of this city looks anything like the past two years things will only get worse.
You mentioned that every entity that you know use independant pension plans. What Police Department do you know that does this? It is not me that I am worried about. I am very close to my 20 years. I am concerned about who will be protecting you and the other residents in years to come if NMB does not make good decisions. What kind of an Officer are you going to get? How much money in civil rights claims will the city pay out in future years. One of our Officers just got her job back with FULL benefits after sh was wrongfully terminated. That Officer could have been on the road protecting people.
This is not up to me. I am one voice and I am only trying to do the right thing. We need to wake up and make a decision soon before it’s too late. I invite you to contact me at the PD and put your ideas out so that I can share them with the members. We are all willing to do what we have to so that NMB remains a safe place to live and raise children. Let’s not get lost in anger and hate over what has been done and said in the past. I am here to bring positive change to this city and I will be here until it gets done.
God bless and be safe.
Mr. Silverstein,
A few other points to mention.
The $27.50 is an amount we offered the city. This amount isn’t set in stone, and you have to remember some officers only work 4 days a week and others 5, and study after study has concluded a take-home car program is beneficial to the city, not only in response times, but also financially. The city hasn’t negotiated an amount or put any offer on the table to counter our offer of $27.50. This is the issue were facing. There not negotiating ANYTHING!! Were trying to negotiate a 3 year deal that saves the city money and helps the city do more with taxpayer money. The city seems to have made up their mind and impose a 1 year contract on the Officers. So what does this mean? This means that a year after they impose, they have to start negotiating again with the police union to settle a contract. What does this mean for the taxpayers? This means the city will have to use YOUR money to once again hire a labor attorney to negotiate with the union. This labor attorney is getting rich off YOU!! The mayor, prior to getting elected, would stand in front of the previous council and would always use the term “kicking the can down the road”, well, the can continues to be kicked. Imposing a contract just kicks the can to 2014 and so on and so on…..
In regards to pension issues, years back, the city, under this current mayor and council, hired a pension attorney to come up with pension reform. Since then, no changes to our pension have been made. The union presented the city this year with essentially the pension reform that THEIR pension attorney came up with and they shot it down. So not only is this mayor “kicking the can down the road” after YOU paid a pension attorney for his reformed pension plan, it’s going to cause this city even more litigation that will once again be picked up by YOU. So basically the city hired a pension attorney to look at the city’s pension plan and reform it, costing you, the taxpayer, mucho $$$. We have since told the city, ok, lets do it. The city now says, NO. They now want to impose pension changes, which we know isn’t legal, and it will result in more attorneys fees and litigation, once again costing you, the taxpayer, mucho $$$$. No one wins!!!! Except the attorneys of course. I’m not trying to bring up the past, but it is important to understand the past so the mistakes aren’t repeated. If this city has saved 2.5 million from laying off 17 Officers and the Union has offered a million in concessions this year, then why not take our concessions and pocket 3.5 million a year, sign a 3 year deal with the officers, and ratify fair pension reform that YOU have already paid for. The citizens, fortunatley, don’t have to deal with these issues everyday, unless they work for this city of course. So it’s extremely frustrating as an employee of this city to see these costly bad decisions being made daily, and hearing the city’s labor attorney state “I have my marching orders from the Mayor and Council, I’m here to take, not give”.
If more citizens get involved, I feel we can all settle these dsiputes to where everyone wins and not just the attorneys.
Thanks Rich!! Your efforts aren’t going unnoticed.
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Sorry try this one… It is AWESOME…
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Once again, as I said in the last council meeting, let’s put together a work shop as the city did two years ago and open it to all concerned residents. I have stated that the Union will split the cost with the city. We can sit down and discuss some options and plan for our future together. The meeting was last Tuesday and we are now a week later. Let’s get pressure on the council to get this done. The “Union” wants to do the right thing and we need the help from the taxpayers to get it done. Budget time is right around the corner and changes need to be made. The taxpayers are counting on us to do the right thing. The “Union” is ready to do it.
All taxpayers in this city should be questioning why an open public forum with residents, city officials, and police officers is not being pursued by the city. What are they hiding?!?! The police Union is open to discuss every detail of the pension and DROP but the city doesn’t feel the need. Here we are years later after pension reform rhetoric by the Mayor & Council and its has been nothing more than a discussed topic on the dias with wastfeful spending on pension attorneys by the city using taxpayer money. Its mind boggling as to why the residents are just standing by and watching this occur. Citizens, demand an open forum with the Mayor, council, union, and pension attorneys so all details can be layed out and all parties involved can engage in discussion to see what steps are best to take to end this forever discussed issue at council meetings. This issue would have been over already if the city officials really wanted it to be. The time is now!!!!!!!