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Union's Attack On Sheriff Conceals Financial Motive

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 6, 2007

The police union is upset with Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee because he won't go along with its contract proposal. But you won't see anything about its demand for raises of up to 10 percent in the union's brochures or ads attacking the sheriff.

It seeks to alarm the public by decrying a deputy shortage. It's a ruse.

The union has not brought up the need for additional staffing during negotiations. Its concerns have been winning bigger raises for deputies at the top of the pay scale, having two full-time deputy positions devoted to representing the union and easing disciplinary standards.

The truth is Gee won the county commission's go-ahead for a plan to add 315 deputies over five years, the largest increase in the agency's history. But if the union gets its way, deputy positions are going to be so expensive taxpayers won't be able to afford additional staffing.

The West Central Florida Police Benevolent Association knows that citizens are not going to respond to ads saying, "Give us more!" so it's trying to generate pressure on Gee with the staffing ads, similar to ones being used elsewhere in the state.

The union already has had to retool its original ads, which included crimes committed in Tampa, Plant City and Temple Terrace - where city police have jurisdiction - in the county's crime statistics. (For the record, Hillsborough per capita crime is lower than the three municipalities and is the third lowest in the state among urban areas.)

But such tactics are to be expected from a union that appears to have scant interest in how its demands affect taxpayers being pounded by property taxes, insurance rates and a sinking economy.

Alas, the city of Tampa has helped create unrealistic expectations by continually giving in to police union demands. Tampa now has one of the highest-paid forces in the Southeast, which is going to be increasingly difficult to maintain as the city is faced with major funding cutbacks. Yet the West Central Florida Police Benevolent Association, which represents both the Tampa police and Hillsborough deputies, continues to demand ever more generous raises.

The contract offered by the sheriff would give deputies an average annual raise of a little over 4 percent - well above what is offered in most private-sector jobs, particularly in these tough times.

The union is unhappy because the raises for officers at the top grade would be only about 1 percent. But this group receives a 7 percent raise in the year before they reach the top of the scale, when officers make about $65,000 a year. As business owners know, setting salary limits for positions is necessary to keep costs from ballooning out of control.

Moreover, during the contract negotiations two years ago, the department agreed with the union's request to establish a "step" plan that enables the deputies to reach the top grade in only 11 years. At the time, Gee stressed that an accelerated step plan would require smaller raises once deputies reached the top, otherwise it would be too costly for taxpayers to sustain.

Hillsborough's deputies already are among the best compensated in the state. The sheriff's office provides a particularly generous benefits package that includes full medical coverage and retirement and a deferred compensation plan.

Law enforcement officers deserve a sound compensation package, but not one that ignores economic realities. Gee is right to hold the line and try to keep the union from creating another unchecked drain on taxpayers.

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