Fraternal Order of Police Levels Accusation s, City Officials Respond in Kind and more from Westminste r Patch
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Union says Westminster police misspending money
Funds used for iPads, iPhones for commanders, union alleges
By Peter Hermann, The Baltimore Sun
8:00 p.m. EST, December 12, 2011
Rank-and-file police officers are accusing the small department in Westminster of misspending money seized from drug suspects by buying iPads and iPhones for top commanders.
The Carroll County Fraternal Order of Police, through a Baltimore law firm it hired, also alleges in a news release that department leaders have pressured officers to work extra-duty shifts at Walmart, sometimes at the expense of patrolling city streets.
"We're looking for answers," said Gary McLhinney, a labor negotiator for Schlachman, Belsky and Weiner, a firm that represents police labor unions around the state. "Morale has clearly suffered because of the impression that the bosses are getting all the perks while the rank and file are left cleaning up the mess."
Westminster's mayor and police chief denied some of the allegations, such as requiring officers to work overtime at Walmart, and declined to comment on others, saying they wanted to confer with the city attorney before commenting publicly.
Mayor Kevin R. Utz, a retired 28-year veteran of the Maryland State Police, questioned the motive of the union's law firm, calling it "one of their steps to get the city to agree to collective bargaining," which the city of Westminster has refused to do. The Carroll County FOP represents the Westminster force on legal and civil matters.
"Clearly, someone disagrees with the manner in which some of the forfeiture funds have been spent," said Westminster Police Chief Jeffrey Spaulding, declining to confirm, as the law firm alleges, that he and his top commanders — a major and three captains — have iPhones or iPads purchased with funds collected as part of criminal forfeitures… http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/breaking/bs-md-ca-westminster-police-funds-20111212,0,7044577.story
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Letter to the editor from Carroll County Government Benefits Administrator Bates about Carroll County Sheriff’s retirement plans
Carroll County Government offers different plan than LEOPS.
May 18th, 2007
To the Editor:
Fraternal Order of Police head John Shippee’s recent letter that was posted on your blog raised some important issues regarding retirement and disability plans offered to the law enforcement officers of the County Sheriff’s Office. For purposes of clarification and future discussion, here are the facts regarding the retirement and disability plan benefits currently in place for those officers:
1. Retirement Plans: Unlike other jurisdictions, all County officers are enrolled in two local retirement plans: 1) a traditional “defined benefit” pension plan that provides lifetime monthly payments after 30 years of service (or at age 62) and 2) a 401(k) Plan to which the County makes contributions of between 3% and 6% of base pay. In order to receive the maximum 401(k)
Adding social security retirement benefits to the mix, law enforcement officers who retire from the
2. Disability Plans: County law enforcement officers are eligible for both short- and long-term disability plans, 100% paid by the County. For officers permanently and totally disabled by a catastrophic injury sustained in the line of duty, substantial federal disability benefits are also available through the Department of Justice.
The retirement and disability benefits available to
William A. Bates
Bureau Chief, Benefits Administration
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For previous posts about Law Enforcement Matters see:
Carroll County Sheriff’s Office
LEOPS (Law Enforcement Officers Pension System)
Carroll County FOP Lodge 20 supports LEOPS for Carroll County Sheriff’s Department
April 29, 2007
{Editors note: For a response to this post please see:
20070518 County Benefit Administrator responds to Sheriff retirement issue}
The letter attached is written by John Shippee, President of the
The members of this lodge publicly support Sheriff Kenneth Tregoning in his attempt to acquire an industry standard retirement for the deputies of the
For further information please contact
FROM: John Shippee, President, Fraternal Order of Police, Carroll County Lodge # 20.
SUBJECT:
During recent weeks there has been much written concerning the future policing in
What has unfortunately been lost is the actual issue, which is a fair and standard retirement and disability plan for members of Sheriff’s Services, not who will be primary – CCSO or a County Police Force.
The current resident trooper program will be phased out, as indicated in the past by Superintendent Tim Hutchins. To implement a county police force is a matter to be addressed by the Board of Commissioners and the Citizens.
The most sensible and cost effective option is to utilize a resource they have used for the past several years, the CCSO, a full service law enforcement agency, which has obtained accreditation through CALEA. The savings of utilizing the CCSO vs. a
However, as stated by Commissioner Gouge, her main concern with using the Sheriff’s Office is that the Commissioners cannot control and appoint a Sheriff, but they can control the Chief of a
Law Enforcement is a profession based on commitment to the citizens of whom they serve, sacrifice and protect. All police officers, as with our fellow fire fighters and EMTs, are specially trained and continually place themselves in harms way.
Police must undergo a physical agility test, a thorough background investigation, a polygraph examination and a battery of psychological tests. They must master certain objectives and pass requirements of the
Members of the CCSO have been conducting primary law enforcement duties for the citizens of
Sheriff Tregoning and the men and woman of the CCSO only request what is fair and reasonable from the
For previous posts about Law Enforcement Matters see:
Carroll County Sheriff’s Office
LEOPS (Law Enforcement Officers Pension System)
Don't compare police to other city employees when it comes to their salary, benefits
Published on April 23, 2006
I would like to respond to recent comments made by Frederick Mayor Jeff Holtzinger about bargaining with the Fraternal Order of Police. As the president of the FOP representing the Frederick Police Department, neither I nor our organization agrees with recent comments.
First and foremost I want to state that we are currently bargaining with the city for a new contract. The current contract does expire on June 30 of this year. We are not going to bargain a new contract in the press. Whatever is said in negotiations stays in the room where it was spoken.
In his budget presented recently to the Frederick Board of Alderman, Mayor Holtzinger stated he wanted to bring the rest of the city employees up to the same level as the police employees. Mayor Holtzinger further stated the police were taken care of over the past several years, and he wants to take care of the rest of the city employees.
This statement couldn't be further from the truth. The FOP in its negotiations with the city year in and year out had to make concessions to obtain better benefits. I don't want to take anything away from the city employees for whom the mayor speaks. Every single one of them provides a needed service to maintain this city and should get treated fairly.
Yes the police employees did receive a 2 percent pay increase and a 2.5 percent COLA over the past three years -- but no one states what was given up in order to obtain that increase.
The mayor wants to compare the city employees to the police employees. It was agreed upon many years ago the police don't compare to the rest of the city employees. Why do you think collective bargaining was developed with the police and not the rest of the city staff?
Who works the hours the police work? Who gives up family outings regularly because during a lot of holidays leave is restricted due to anticipated problems? Who leaves for work every day of their careers with the very strong possibility it's the last time they may see their loved ones?
We all read the headlines daily. We have a record number of police currently on limited duty status due to job-related injuries, and the list grows at an alarming rate.
I have stated recently and will continue to state that all I want is to attract good qualified individuals to apply to the Frederick Police Department, and maintain them to complete their entire 22-year career here. We have lost many good police officers to competing agencies in this area. Let's take measures to stop that. With the increasing violence against police, we need to give individuals reasons to apply here and not look elsewhere.
Compare the police to other police when looking at salaries and benefit packages. Compare DPW workers to other DPW workers when comparing salaries and their benefits. Compare sanitation workers to other sanitation workers when comparing salaries and benefit packages.
No city employee should be compared to all other city employees. We all perform different work. Compensate us according to others who compare.
William Forder is president of FOP Lodge 91.
Carroll County FOP Lodge # 20 endorsements
May 8th, 2005
Perhaps you may want to read:
Fraternal Order of Police Carroll County Lodge No. 20 candidate questionnaire
2005 Mayoral/City Council Candidate Political Survey - Due April 29th, 2005
Westminster Mayor
Fraternal Order of
April 8th, 2005
2005 Mayoral/City Council Candidate Political Survey
Due April 29th, 2005
Westminster Mayor
April 29th, 2005
1. What do you feel is the most positive strength you would add to the City of
Experience and the energy, drive, accessibility and ability to make that experience work for positive change.
2. What has been your most positive non-work related leadership experience?
The Civil Rights Movement in the south in the early 1970s.
3. What role, if any, do you see public safety playing in the future economic development of the City of
How would that affect the Police Department?
The Westminster Police Department plays a critical role.
4. Do you support rank and file negotiations for benefits? Please expand on your answer.
No.
5. What do you feel can be done to support public safety in the City of
Public Education. Accreditation. Technology. Landlord Training Program.
6. The current administration of the Westminster City Police Department has taken a positive step towards recruitment of police officers. What idea(s) could you give the Chief to help recruit quality police officers for the City of
Officer to Officer contact, recruitment and promotion including FOP promotion.
7. The current administration of the Westminster City Police Department has taken several positive steps to retain qualified police officers. What idea(s) could you give the Chief to help retain them?
Shift differential pay. Self-actualization. Esprit de corps. Degree of Openness.
8. What do you feel is the most pressing issue relating to the City of
Pay and strategic planning.
1. What do you feel is the most positive strength you would add to the City of
Experience and the energy, drive, accessibility and ability to make that experience work for positive change. I love my job. I have a passion for
I have the unique qualifications to positively affect the day-to-day quality of life for
Change can be difficult, but over the years, by working together with other community leaders and
I offer the citizens of the City of
2. What has been your most positive non-work related leadership experience?
Working in the Civil Rights Movement in the very early 1970s in the south. It taught me discipline, perseverance, tolerance for physical, psychological and verbal abuse and focus. It taught me patience (don’t sweat the small stuff) and to keep in mind the big picture in working towards positive social change.
3. What role, if any, do you see public safety playing in the future economic development of the City of
The Police Department plays a key and critical role in future economic development. As you know, 40% of the tax base in the City of
Potential businesses look at many factors when choosing to move to a municipality such as
It will affect the Westminster Police Department by requiring more innovative and cutting edge customer service oriented policing (such as Community Policing and S.E.R.A.) out of the officers and the department. Westminster Police Officers are our 365/24/7 ambassadors for
It will also require more police officers. However, economic development usually pays for itself. That stated, I have suggested for several years that
How can the FOP play a role in economic development, and attracting more jobs and businesses, to the City of
4. Do you support rank and file negotiations for benefits? Please expand on your answer.
I’m curious – what do you mean by “rank and file negotiations for benefits”? If this is double-speak for collective bargaining or bringing a union into the City of
Pay and benefits are one area of personnel where the City has to speak with one voice and have a clear consensus. When it doesn't happen that way, false hopes are created and disappointment is sure to occur. It is also one thing to understand that pay and benefits must increase in order for the City to stay competitive and remain on the cutting edge of providing customer service for our citizens and it is another thing for the employees to have an ownership stake in the organization and understand that we often have finite resources with which to work.
It has been my experience that often Unions do not understand the big picture and instead they foster friction, dissension and acrimony among the very folks who are already pre-disposed to do everything possible to provide the best for the employees. Unions pit employee against employee and employee against management. I have no interest in anyone or any organization getting between me and the employees whom I serve.
I urge the rank and file to continue to work through the chain of command to articulate what is needed and what can be done. If the chain of command is not working to facilitate getting the rank and file’s message to me then I need to know about that. Otherwise, I have yet to find a Westminster Police Officer who has not found me anything but accessible, ready and eager to listen, at all hours of the night and day, 365/24/7.
What additional benefits does the FOP think are needed by Westminster Police Officers? I worked hard in the past for Westminster Police Officers and I understand that there is more to achieve. By working together, we can all do better. Meanwhile, I have heard you in the past and worked hard for minimum court overtime, minimum emergency call out overtime, expanding the take home car policy, LEOPS, more training opportunities and I supported the expansion of the CRT to a countywide team; among many initiatives in which I heard you and went to work for you.
5. What do you feel can be done to support public safety in the City of
Public Education, Accreditation, Technology and Landlord Training Program are some ideas that quickly come to mind.
Public Education is self-explanatory. The local public has long since begun to take for granted that we have an excellent police department. By putting our heads together, perhaps we can arrive at some innovative approaches to letting the public be aware of the excellent policing that everyone in
Accreditation. With a long term goal of accreditation comes an emphasis on additional training opportunities beyond certification standards, including Executive Development Training, Incident Management, advanced Crisis Response Training.
Technology. Stronger emphasis placed upon the use of available technologies including the use of computers and other modern advances.
Landlord Training Program. By working directly with the Landlords we have found that they are a very effective key to the solution. Criminals when arrested are normally released pending trial and when sentenced serve little or no time and then return to what they consider is their home. It is important that we collectively work with the landlords to screen tenants, and put into place strict rental agreements proscribing an intolerance of crime or drugs, along with advocacy that landlords proceed quickly with the eviction process to help eliminate the ability of the criminal to return to live in the neighborhood and increase our calls for service.
What does the FOP think needs to be done to support public safety in
6. The current administration of the Westminster City Police Department has taken a positive step towards recruitment of police officers. What idea(s) could you give the Chief to help recruit quality police officers for the City of
The issue of Take Home Vehicles has recently been addressed. Issues such as pay are being addressed immediately by the proposed FY 2006 budget and a salary study is in that budget. LEOPS is in place… A signing bonus is in place.
Officer to Officer contact, recruitment and promotion. One idea that I’d like to share with the rank and file and the Chief is how can we get the rank and file to participate in attracting additional police officers to the Westminster Police Department. With an emphasis on laterals, how can we empower the rank and file to have a stake in the recruitment process? The best advertisement for the Westminster Police Department are the officers out there talking up the Department and the City of
How about the FOP participating? Perhaps the FOP could run some ads for all the agencies in the County and talk up our Carroll County quality of life, good schools, low crime rate and a great working environment where Police Officers and their work is greatly appreciated by the general Carroll County population.
What does the FOP think needs to be done to recruit quality police officers for the City of
7. The current administration of the Westminster City Police Department has taken several positive steps to retain qualified police officers. What idea(s) could you give the Chief to help retain them?
Shift differential pay. Self-actualization. Esprit de corps. Degree of Openness.
Above and beyond issues such as pay, better equipment, LEOPS and more training opportunities…
Degree of Openness. Continued change towards a more open system of management where information and explanations flow from the bottom to the top and the top to the bottom fluidly and easily. Understanding that there must be a clearly defined chain of command, it is possible for lower ranking officers to be provided the opportunity to give additional feedback and be a part of the future planning of the department. I believe that the greater the amount of information shared by a policing system with its environment (command staff and the Chief and the Mayor), the greater the degree of openness and opportunities for change.
Esprit de corps. By team building, officers can take pride that they are part of one of the finest police agencies in the region.
Self-actualization. Creating and giving police officers more opportunities to access responsibility for the future of the department
Shift differential pay. I believe that shift differential pay is important for all nightshift employees in the City of
I would like to hear what ideas does the FOP have to better recruitment and retention of Police Officers in the City of
8. What do you feel is the most pressing issue relating to the City of
Pay. In my FY 2006 Budget, I have included money for a comprehensive administration and salary study. To the best of my knowledge, this has not been done since the late 1980s. I don’t think that the salaries of
How will this issue affect the Police Department? It is my goal that you will be paid more.
What does the FOP feel is the most pressing issue relating to the City of
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Police object to pension proposal
April 14th, 2002
http://www.sunspot.net/news/local/carroll/bal-ca.pension14apr14.story?coll=bal%2Dlocal%2Dcarroll
Police object to pension proposal - Council members say $115,000-a-year package is all city can afford; 'This is not acceptable'
By Athima Chansanchai, Sun Staff, April 14, 2002
A supplemental retirement plan for Westminster's Police Department unveiled at last week's Common Council meeting was supposed to satisfy dual goals of attracting and keeping city officers, but they don't like it. "This is not what they promised. This is not acceptable," said Daniel W. Besseck, International Union of Police Associations representative, who attended Thursday night's emergency meeting of the Westminster Police Association. Eight of 38 association members were in attendance.
Besseck was referring to the plan proposed by Westminster Councilman Roy L. Chiavacci, who serves as chairman of the council's Public Safety Committee. The plan would require the city to deposit the equivalent of 5 percent to 9 percent of an officer's annual salary - depending on years of service - into an account similar to a savings plan. It would cost the city $115,000 a year.
"The council's job is to make sure their employees are taken care of. It should be their primary responsibility. This is a slap in the face," Besseck said.
Members of the Common Council said the plan was a good one and all the city could afford as it faces a $2.3 million deficit.
Besseck's group has been working with
Officers at the meeting said that amount isn't enough to live on, especially if they have a family. One officer said he would receive only $1,026 a month in benefits if he were begin drawing from it when he retires in 2023.
Most officers said they would prefer the city use the Law Enforcement Officers' Pension System, or LEOPS, which returns 50 percent of an officer's salary after 25 years of service. According to the city's studies, this would cost $364,000 a year, or $17 million over 25 years.
"Though we're on a smaller scale than
"What's important here is that we work with the police officers and take into consideration their thoughts and feelings and be responsive to their needs," Mayor Kevin E. Dayhoff said. "I truly believe the council worked on this with a sense of caring, depth and integrity.
"I understand clearly that the budget will not allow the city to go in the direction of LEOPS this year, but I would rather that we wait and do LEOPS when it's financially feasible than go to a pension enhancement plan."
Council President Damian L. Halstad said there was an involved series of discussions concerning the retirement options, and of them all, the plan proposed by Chiavacci was the most viable.
"LEOPS is not fiscally possible or prudent," said Halstad. "We're talking about this in a vacuum. We have to remember that there is a $2.3 million shortfall we have to trim from the budget, but the city is still willing to find money to implement this plan. ...
"Some people even view the whole plan as much too generous a windfall for the Police Department. The council showed great commitment to the force by moving this forward."
Police Chief Roger G. Joneckis said he would not comment on the program until he learned more about it.
He mentioned steps the city has taken to improve the department's situation, including pay raises and increased hiring to bring staffing to the full complement of 43 officers.
The union has been pushing for better retirement benefits to keep senior officers from pursuing jobs in other departments.
"They continue to train new people. You can fill bodies but not experience," Besseck said. "Maturity is everything in this job."
Chiavacci hopes officers change their views when they're given an opportunity for personal projections of their supplemental benefits on April 24.
"We tried to craft a plan that was both desirable and affordable, and quite frankly, it's generous," Chiavacci said.
He said he's disappointed by the negative reaction of some officers, but that he wants to hear what they have to say.
"If they did that, they can help us make it better than what it is. I welcome that input," he said.
Copyright © 2002, The Baltimore Sun
Maryland State Police,