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PT: Long Beach Police Officers Could Face Layoffs by Ryan ZumMallen | Archive | 09.03.10 |
+ 7:00am | The Long Beach Police Officers Association will not agree to a request that they forego a scheduled 2% raise, according to the Press-Telegram, meaning that some officers will likely lose their jobs instead as the City continues to search for ways to save money. City Manager Pat West had asked all City departments to agree to pay cuts or freezes, such as the one that the departments of City Attorney, City Auditor and City Prosecutor agreed to earlier this week. However, the officers union agreed last year to reduce a scheduled raise over five years that was estimated to save the City tens of millions of dollars over the next few years. LBPOA president Steve James told the Press-Telegram yesterday that he wont ask his members to agree to another raise reduction only one year later. But the City has to cut one way or another, facing an $18.5 million deficit that must be balanced and presented to the City Council by September 15. That means that the Police Department may have to fire officers. The Press-Telegram reports that 76 positions are likely to be cut, but many of those could be lost naturally to attrition such as retirement or job offers elsewhere.
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19 Comments so far.
Jeff This is frustrating. I wish more police lived in Long Beach. Then they might value quality of life in the city as much as their personal compensation. That_LB_Guy They could save that 2% easily, if they would cut overtime work. I was speaking to a LB officer the other day who worked 60 hours OT last month because it was his wife's birthday, and he wanted the extra $$ for a trip. Great! Instead of hiring additional officers to have coverage, we have officers who are picking and choosing when and where they get OT according to their personal desires. Whenever we have this situation, we spend MILLIONS more than we need to. To get rid of the deficit, cut OT to 0%, put officers on a schedule based on the needs of the CITY, not based on the needs of the employee, and hire more officers to fill in the gaps!! This is what corporations do every day. Why is it so hard for the city to figure out?! reeverse It's hard for the City (and leaders) to figure out because that would mean they would have to make unpopular decisions. They might get some people angry. Those peopel couldnt do cool things like special vacations. That would lose them some friends and favor. Possibly, even lose an election, appointmment, board seat or other prominent connected role. Ultimately, they would have to be accountable and responsible for the benefit of the whole vs favoring friends and themselves. Come on now, who does that, these days? CHARLIE When it comes to the POA union, really, what else can you expect? and they still want to be paid for getting dressed to go to work... LB Provider I was raised to respect police officers. My grandfather was a proud and respectable officer, and from what I know, never abused the system. These officers in LB act like they are above the law, and have very little pride in their work. They see it as a paycheck and then go around bragging about how they are screwing us taxpayers. This is sad and tragic, because we need them (the good one's anyway.) If they end up in the ER and recieve substandard care they should remember, what goes around comes around. Think You need to consider that there are certain overtime hours available for special events held within the city. Hours for this are distributed by officers volunteering, it is not a mandatory assignement. Overtime is not just available because people feel like it. disgusted Such selfish, greedy behavior hardens my resolve against the POA, which I have felt for several years. LB Gal Go ahead and base your whole opinion of the police dept. on one discussion. I was also speaking to a LB Officer who said people that don't work this job fail to understand police officers don't create most of the OT. Murders, Shootings, Gang related activities, etc. Vege I agree with That_LB_Guy!!!!!!!! Dysfunctional Greed Do the math: The budget was to reduce OT 2% to save roughly $175,000. That means annual costs for OT for the LB Police are are $ 8.75 MILLION. That is half of what the city needs to cut. I'd bet that the fire department OT probably is most of the rest. The result of their greed is that we will have fewer officers. But they don't care because they don't live here. I'm thinking we would be better off with the Sheriffs. Phil This is a good example why unions with this much influence are bad. VRLB Doesn't make me feel bad in the slightest.. Over the last month, I've seen LBPD do nothing on multiple occasions as they watched various traffic violations occur right in front of them around the Alamitos Beach area.. Dyfunctional Greet Not a spelling error. I suspect a certain sargeant has been scooping up thousands a year in OT while he plays around on his computer doing stuff that has nothing to do with LBPD matters.Unfortunately the Union is less concerned with who has their hearts into our city and more concerned with seniority. Inchworm @VRLB - you're right. Plus, just look at how cops drive around talking on their phones, oh yes, and not hands-free, either. Nothing like breaking the law to enforce it. How can they do their jobs if they're on the phone? Or you can see them having their meetings - car to car - in the 7-11 parking lot. And of course, they're not citing people for infractions like not signaling and other just plain bad driving habits. So, this makes for worse drivers and lost income. Just think, if the cops gave tickets like they used to - for driving infractions - they'd also make more money and make better drivers. Wow a 2 for 1 deal and some genuine revenue from doing what they are supposed to do. Erik I don't know if the police are overpaid or not, but it is the city managers who agreed to pay them. What do you expect a union to do? Volunteer for pay cuts? Long Beach Resident Isn't it time we switched to using the LAC Sheriff for our policing needs? This PD is out of control--numerous scandals, wanting OT for shaving and practicing their musical skills, going to out of area parties on city time, running up OT whenever they need extra $$, taking more and more when so many others are getting less or nothing. The Sheriff did a much better job when they were here before--let's bring them back! Bank of Taxpayers The city needs to do the right thing here, most of the 5,500 city employees do not live in Long Beach. With that being said, I'm happy with the policing in my neighborhood (East LB). Say what you will about the police, there are reasons why we all live in Long Beach and the police is one of the reasons. To those who say the police are not enforcing traffic laws, do we really want the police to enforce the letter of the law or the intent of the law? Here are some numbers for all of us to think about, 7.9% ($200 mil) is the police share of the city budget but it's 48% of the General Fund. FY 2010 General Fund (see page 3) http://www.longbeach.gov/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=23244 FY 2008 - FY 2010 All Funds (see page 3) http://www.longbeach.gov/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=23260 Concerned citizen LB police officer salaries are egregiously high and out-of-touch with the market. When will officers take some responsibility and share the burden of tighter city budgets in the current economic environment? I say, reduce officer salaries by 5%. If officers disagree, they should resign and look for work elsewhere. There are plenty of adults with barely high-school diplomas who line up for these jobs every year. Officers are absolutely replaceable. Autumn Hy hubby works for LBPD His department haven't had a raise in 3 yrs, they took 2 days a month last year without pay, and had to pay others to come in and cover the shifts with OT. If you look at the dispatchers they are so under staffed people in LB would be scared. The study the city did showed the dispatchers are the lowest paid in so cal. So think before many speak about how you would feel if you couldn't live off what you make even within your means. How many of you defaulted on your houses and filed BK? They could get fired for that! Also stop calling 911 just because your baby daddy took your house keys!
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Ryan ZumMallen has served as the managing editor of the LBPOST.com since 2007. He graduated from CSULB with a degree in Print Journalism in 2008 and is a member of the 2009 class of Leadership Long Beach. You can find him on various basketball courts around the city.
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