April 25, 2008
Petition
In the inbox: Petitions in support of priority funding for the Police Dept. and Public School System have been placed in several locations around Petersburg.
PETERSBURG LIBRARIES - at the main desks at:
McKenney Branch, 137 S Sycamore St, 733.2387
Rodolf Sholom Branch, 1865 S Sycamore St, 733.2393
A.P. Hill Branch, 1237 Halifax St, 733.2391 (also downstairs at the activity desk)
Petitions may also be found at:
JAVA MIO - 322 N Sycamore
KIMBERLY ANN’S - 246 N Sycamore St.
SIGNATURE STYLE POLISH POTTERY - 13 W Old St.
SYCAMORE ROUGE - 21 W Old St.
VIRGINIA OPTICAL CENTER - 1980 S Sycamore St.
THE BRICKHOUSE RUN - 407-409 Cockade Alley.
Please call 733.4495 if you can’t get to a petition to sign, and we’ll bring one to you. Also, WE NEED HELP in the various neighborhoods around Petersburg to walk around and collect signatures. Please call if you want blank forms.
We thank you for your support of this critical issue. Let’s help City Council make the difficult decision to place a funding priority on Police Dept and Public Schools budgets in FY09.
From the “Fact Sheet” –
Did you know that the starting salary of a police officer in Petersburg is $29,000? Compare that to Colonial Heights at $36,000, Goochland at $42,000, Hopewell at $33,500 and Richmond at $38,500.
Did you know the Police Department is authorized 107 officers and currently has only 80? They are 27 people below the manning that they are authorized because of the difficulty in recruiting with the lowest starting salaries in the region!
Did you know that patrol operations require 64 officers but currently we have only 36?
Did you know that Petersburg Police work 12 hour shifts due to lack of manpower AND have been in this mode since 2003?
Did you know that the Police Department has lost 16 officers in the last 3 years? 6 more officers are planning on retiring in the next 6 months and 4 resignations are currently pending!
Did you know … Petersburg has had so little success in recruiting and retaining quality officers due to lack of equitable pay, under-manning and overwork that the Police Department eliminated 14 positions that were needed but were unable to fill, just to distribute funding to provide incentive pay to retain the officers they still had?
Petersburg has some of the finest, hardest working law enforcement personnel in the region, but they are underfunded, undermanned, and overworked.
How long would you work at a job with longer hours, and less pay, if you could have the same job with more pay and fewer hours in another location within 20 miles?
Is there any wonder why “State Police crime statistics for 2007 indicate that Petersburg is central Virginia’s most dangerous place to live, based on the number of crimes for its size?” (Richmond Times Dispatch 27 March 2008)
SPEAK UP FOR PRIORITY FUNDING IN THE 2009 BUDGET FOR POLICE & EMERGENCY SERVICES AND OUR PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM – THESE SERVICES SHOULD BE FUNDED FIRST WHEN FIGURING THE BUDGET
Can someone specify in the comments here when signatures need to be collected by? Thanks.
Starting is only $29K - that’s just sad - I can only imagine what the salary was when my father (supporting a wife & 3 kids) retired from the P’Burg PD.
Compare that starting to the Sheriff’s Office starting salary. The Commonwealth pays for $28,234 the deputies salary (well this Dec. 1 will be $28,799 with the 2%) and I think the City supplements them a LITTLE bit - not much. And then the really nice part - if they are on the job a year later, they AUTOMATICALLY get a 9.31% increase as part of the retention program.
Now, after working with the Sheriffs, I have a new found respect for what they do BUT, I personnaly think that the Officers at the PD that are on patrol face alot more in the way of hazardous duty (vs. standing in the court room all day type of thing…..*shrug*)
*Side note - Brenda I got your email and will get you the spreadsheets today*
Are there any projections of what to do when, after receiving the petitions, budget considerations don’t address placing a funding priority on Police Dept. and Public Schools budgets in FY09?
I ask this because following the massive numbers of petition signers and petitions being turned in to council requesting a mere 30 days to consider the millions of dollars for Dogwood Trace, council snubbed the petitioners by ignoring the request.
I find the proposed 09 budget very troubling. Starting on page ii at the top, the narrative states, “The City’s current undesignated General Fund fund balance is 18.66% of the proposed FY09 operating budget.” First, the sentence is syntactically problematic (i.e., the “current balance” of the “proposed budget”????) But much more important is the proposal for 18.66% undesignated funds in the 09 budget. That’s close to $18M that city management effectively holds in its back pocket to use as it pleases outside of the normal public process. That number should be cut by 50%, thus freeing up $9M NOW for police and education. Also, the people should demand a line-item accounting of all “fund balance” expenditures in previous years.
Also, remember Chuck’s very important observation from April 15th:
It would be interesting to see the justifications for supplies from some of the agencies.
*Health Dept.-Preventative Health with N/A as far as personnel but a $766K supply budget
*Finance- Risk Management with 2 Full Time Personnel with a $614K supply budget
*Public Works - Administration with 2 Full Time Personnel and a $508K supply budget
Then look at the entire Police department all operations with 164 Full Time Personnel and only $581K for supplies.
LK: In brief, from these four areas alone, it appears that roughly $10.5M could be shifted within the 09 budget to police and education.
We were unsure of the date we would need the petitions in, so the date on the petitions is 4/29, but we can extend that out a bit to May 5. Looks like the next Council meeting will be May 6. However, I will still be checking on petition locations ahead of time, to take completed sheets and replace with blank ones. IF YOU CAN WALK AROUND A PETITION ON A COUPLE OF BLOCKS IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD, PLEASE EMAIL INFO@OLDTOWNEPETERSBURG.COM . Old Towne is pretty well covered already.
Response to Akin regarding next steps if the requests are ignored:
Good question - but let’s assume success, rather than failure at this point. Wards 2, 4, 6 are up for reelection this year, though, so I would figure these particular Councilpersons would have an incentive to do as their ward members request?
The Petersburg school system is a monumental failure and it is not because of lack of money. It is because it is incompetent at the organisational and operational level. Wake up taxpayers and lobby your council member. Close down the schools.
Good point on the November elections, sooo…. rather than ASS-U-ME either success or failure, I humbly suggest preparing for both.
I was sort of surprised there wasn’t a department program narrative for the Education Budget (since it’s the 4th largest budgeted requirement for the city).
If anyone is bored and wants to see if they can find any glaring faux pas’ here’s some of my bean counting. (Not sure but, think Brenda might be posting something about it too later)
http://cwredden.googlepages.com/PetersburgFY09BudgetReview.xls
Forgot - Some people don’t realize there are multiple tabs at bottom. Feel free to fool around with the charts and pivot tables and filter the data as much as you want.
I am a little concerned with education and police being in the same petition.
It is CLEAR that the police are underfunded, staffed, equiped, etc.
But no one has made the case that petersburg spends less/student than other localities. What I have heard is that they spend more. I think the petition should read: More money for police, and less administrative personelle in education, so there will be more money for teachers.
Uunder-performing urban areas are notorious for having a bloated administration as part of a corrupt political patronage system run by the democratic party. If this is not the case in petersburg, I’d like to see the numbers.
I am FOR additional funding for an under-funded school system, but not giving more money to the incompetent.
“I am FOR additional funding for an under-funded school system, but not giving more money to the incompetent.” … shawn
“The Petersburg school system is a monumental failure and it is not because of lack of money. It is because it is incompetent at the organisational and operational level.” … Brian Eastwood
Keep in mind that the elections in Wards 2, 4, and 6 include voting for candidates for the Petersburg School Board. We should all continue the research so we will be informed with facts and not sentiment. It’s time to give considerable thought to how we will mark our ballots!
“We should all continue the research so we will be informed with facts and not sentiment. It’s time to give considerable thought to how we will mark our ballots!”
I am all for that, MJ. I will admit that I don’t know all that much about PPS per se …. but I think the school’s ranking is a nice shorthand for the situation there.
But I would like to see MORE facts, such as the actual numbers spent per student, and where that money goes.
You might’ve noticed that richmond is only now figuring out where all of THAT money has been going all these years, and heads are rolling in the streets.
Chuck,
Wow! Why is so much money going to health and human services? Looks like a lot of that can be cut.
I bet a lot of other areas can be cut too. Petersburg needs better security first. Who can learn in an unsafe environment? Well, many people can, but it’s harder. Next we need better education and most importantly, better educational standards. You don’t make the cut, you get handed a shovel, and you see how much you like that kind of work. Then you get a second chance, but the bar is set HIGH. No more social promotion. We’ve got better things to be spending money on than people who don’t want to be educated.
This is upsetting that one has to sign a petition to get the admin to recuit and staff the police office. We should be signing a petitiom to get rid of the Admin. that has allowed these situations to become the problems they have. The schools system needs to cut those students who don’t want to be there, first. Also cut the upper Admin. school officals who make more than $50,000 and replace them with volunteers!
Thanks for the post Chuck. I disappeared into the boonies for a few days, and will likely need a few more to catch up.
It appears that in both the city history of spending and the school systems history of spending, it is unclear where the money has actually been going.
I agree with post #11, that more money for the incompetent is a no brainer, don’t dot that i.
I agree with post #4 that the people should demand a line-item accounting of all “fund balance” expenditures in previous years. Apparently this should be done for city and schools.
Just what is the legal way to go about “demanding” that information? According to sources, FOIA hasn’t been effective in securing factual information, what is an alternative?
I don’t know atkin s., but I’d definately sign your petition asking for line-item accounting.
I mean, it’s hard not to sound like a crank when you are complaining about something, but don’t have the numbers to do the math with….
Ref: #17
Akin, the best way to demand things is to request your city councilperson. That’s what they’re there for. I just sent a request asking for a schedule of public hearings on the 09 budget. I understand that it’s not posted yet on the city website. Perhaps I’m wrong, and would appreciate anyone telling me where I can find it.
Also, ref: FOIA. I have submitted 4 requests in recent months, and the city has complied with each one, so I have no complaints in that area.
Thanks Linas. I talked with my council representative last night and agreed that talking to him about what is reality reference council decisions is a great place to start.
Therefore when I find myself in the highways, byways and cubicles of discussions about the issues we face, or if I am talking to a candidate running against the incumbent, I will be able to quote my council representative. I will be able to look at facts and evidence and weigh what my council rep. has told me against what an opposing candidate may say.
When November comes and I find myself standing in front of a polling place raising my voice in support of this candidate or that candidate, I will again feel confident that I am doing my part of participating in the process and know in my heart that the only people who will be offended by my loud voice will be those who disagree with me, or those who do not understand the political process. Either way, I must stand up for what I believe in no matter what.
See you at the tables of discussion and in the footsteps of action.
Our problem is neither incompetance or wrongdoing. Petersburg needs money for those public projects that essentially benefit the poor.
The schools actually produce capable students whose parents stay on top of their needs.
Crime is rampant in the worst districts, not in the middle class or worthy areas. What the unsolved crime rate?
Let’s not get our panties in a twist over this.
Arm yourselves with the facts and not shotgun your attacks on city government.
Did you know for instance, that Mayor Mickens is a school employee, and has not recused herself of voting funds to PPS? Is there a conflict of interest? Even if only perceived?
Aim your shots to hit the proper targets.
The starting salary of a policeman, is not meant to support a wife (stay at home) and growing two kids. Without looking I will tell you that a 15 year veteran makes a decent salary.
Petitions and papers don’t force or solve the problem, people solve problems. Get yourselves together, meet organize and act. Saying we need to “throw the bums out” is not enough.
#22
“The starting salary of a policeman, is not meant to support a wife (stay at home) and growing two kids. Without looking I will tell you that a 15 year veteran makes a decent salary.”
Interesting…except I know of no officers with stay at home wives. and in fact can not think of any officers willing to stay 15 years with such pay issues. As long as other jurisdictions value their employment more highly we will continue to bleed employees. Of the 12 employees hired in 1993 (15yr) only one remains…and makes 42G’s which is NOW the starting salary in several jurisdictions within 20 miles of us. etc. The average yrs of experience per squad continues to hover at three years…perhaps because once the 3 year contract they sign, is up, they leave for the better paid positions.
What is a decent salary for coming to work in a bullet proof vest?
Police depts are like insurance policys everyone wants to lower the premium and keep the same coverages. Right now we are at risk of LOSING our POLICY and we are concerned about whether the cops wife is a stay at home mom?
A reminder to one and all that the City Council meeting is tonight and we’d like a packed house to show support for this.
Letter to the editor in today’s PI:
http://www.progress-index.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19663517&BRD=2271&PAG=461&dept_id=462943&rfi=6
Kudos to all those who turned out to support and speak passionately about the schools and public safety tonight.
I think they heard a unified voice and understand the point being made.