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Follow us on TwitterLynchburg rally organizers say public safety pay shouldn’t get cut
A downtown rally will be held next week to show support for public safety officers slated to take an across-the-board pay cut in the new fiscal year that starts this summer.
The rally will take place on the same day City Council is scheduled to grant final approval to the new budget. The budget, in its current form, imposes a 3 percent pay cut on all city employees.
Recently, it’s been suggested the public safety division — which consists of police, fire and emergency dispatchers — should be exempt from those salary reductions given the nature and significance of their jobs. Rally organizers hope to drive that message home to council and, perhaps, persuade members to alter the budget before it goes through.
“We want to open up the dialogue and see City Council go back to the drawing board and find creative ways to balance the budget without cutting salaries,” said Leecy Fink, a rally organizer and wife of a 12-year Lynchburg Police Department veteran.
“We don’t want them to make a hasty decision and approve the budget, then regret it later,” she added, noting a pay cut would damage morale and cause people to flee to higher-paying jobs elsewhere, leaving the public safety forces depleted.
It’s uncertain if City Council could be convinced to postpone the final budget vote this late in the process. Last week, Councilman Jeff Helgeson proposed restoring full pay for police officers by reducing the city contribution to the schools.
He cited an LPD memo that reported a 7.4 percent rise in violent crime and a 19.4 percent turnover rate among officers over the past two years.
The same report said a survey of 28 Virginia communities, including Lynchburg, found the Hill City was the only one planning to cut pay for public safety employees.
Helgeson’s motion was criticized by the rest of council and died due to lack of a second. One of the most common objections dealt with the message it would send to cut pay for some employees while protecting others.
Opposing council members also said the pay cuts were a difficult but necessary step given the economic troubles the city faces. Full employee pay could not be restored without making significant cuts elsewhere in the budget, they argue, including possible layoffs.
Public safety officers themselves offered conflicting views on how council should respond to the salary concerns. All agreed the pay cut should be reversed if possible, but not necessarily if it meant taking from other departments or only exempting public safety.
“I hate to take any money from one organization and give it to another,” said Officer Doug Childress, a police officer with 28 years experience and current president of the local chapter of the Virginia Police Benevolent Association.
Childress felt strongly about the need to restore public safety salaries, noting the LPD already has some of the lowest pay rates in the state, according to the same staff memo discussed earlier by council.
He said he felt the city needed to look for “new ideas” and revisit some of the major capital projects it was spending on, a suggestion that’s been made in the past.
But Childress stopped short of saying the money ought to be taken from the school budget. “If there’s excess in their budget, that should be looked at,” he said. “But if this is something our school teachers need, I don’t want to be the one to stand up and say we’re going to take that away from you.”
The Blue Ridge chapter of the Virginia Police Benevolent Association is supporting next week’s rally, as is the Lynchburg Fire Fighters Association.
Fire Chief Brad Ferguson said he was aware of the rally and told his employees they were free to attend, but he did not directly align himself with the gathering’s mission.
“I’m in support in that I’d like to see them put the pay back in,” he said. “But I think they need to do it for all city employees. I don’t think we should separate ourselves. It will damage morale (in other departments).”
Turnover has been a more severe issue for the police department and emergency communications center than the fire department. Police Chief Parks Snead said two officers recently announced plans to take other jobs, citing in part the department’s uncompetitive salaries.
Supervisors are also reporting as many as 18 others are considering leaving if the pay cut goes through. Snead said the idea of such an exodus “disturbs me greatly” and added that for an organization the size of the LPD, the loss of 10 officers would be a “public safety crisis.”
The pay cut is an unusual measure and comes on the heels of a two-and-a-half-day unpaid furlough for all city employees.
Fink, one of the rally organizers, said that event has drawn, not only city employees and their families, but also regular community members who are concerned about what’s happening.
“These are people who feel strongly that the impact of cutting public safety salaries will be greater than the impact of cutting other employees’ salaries,” she said. “… A community is built first on safety. People won’t send their children to your schools or start a business or move to your community unless it’s a safe community.”
The rally will begin at noon Tuesday, May 26, at the foot of Monument Terrace. It will continue until City Council begins its regular business meeting that day at 5 p.m.
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Reader Reactions
I taught in Bedford County. I retired in 2005. I never made what Lynchburg city teachers make( I made way less). That said I admire, respect and trust the teacehrs in the city. My daughter was educated in the city. AND on top of all this I now work part time for the city, had my furlough , thank you and will receive a 3% cut in my pay come July. I am NOT, repeat NOT whining .I am happy for my job and know that come better economic times things will get better.
DO NOT pit teachers against other employess. DO NOT!
Jim you set the criteria of the police having a dangerous job. These are your words not mine:
Do not criticize or attempt to compare your job to those men and women that run towards the fire, while you run away or run after the guy with the gun while you cowher down in the corner.
You broght the subgect up. All I did is follow your logic in telling there are jobs, including mine, that are much more dangerous. You’re the one that made the point that danger somehow entitles PD to special priviledge.
You set the criteria for that conversation, so don’t make yourself look even more foolish and a liar to boot.
Like I said to you before, more specious arguements does nothing to validate your previous specious arguements. The rest of your post is just nonsense trying to cover nonsense.
Just grow up and quit crying…sheeeeeeeeeeeeesh. We all are suffering.
Poet, my dear commercial motor vehicle driver, No one is ignoring facts or reality except maybe you. No one is running from anything. As always the police and fire are running TOWARDS the problem, not away from it. You keep mentioning how dangerous your job is, I am still waiting on some type of research to back it up. On your second note please find me one police officer or one fire fighter who has said that they should not get cut while the rest of the city does. The facts are the police and fire personnel are rallying back and other departments aren’t. I am sure should any other city department rally against this cut, the police and fire would support them.
As for your fantasy world you think people live in, WAKE UP, As for who is arrogant, I don’t recall anyone except YOU spouting off that “I have the 3rd most dangerous job in the world”.
Jim, you have a intersting way of trying to verify a specious arguement by preseting more specious arguements.
Your whole argement is to assign some kind of special priviledge to PD. Your painfull contortions in trying to do so is just making you look arrogant and foolish.
The bottom line is you are no more worthy of special concideration in a budget crisis than any other city employee, period. Get off the deity trip and understand that this is a shared burden.
While you’re at it I’d still like to know if my being 3 times more likely to die on the job then any police officer, does that give me special priviledge.
That was one of your criteria in trying to make you look brave while while the rest of us just cower in corners. It’s your logic. Why are you running from it now?
I know, I know, trying to reach you is an excersies in futility. You ignore that facts and reality. You think you’re entitled special status simple because you are PD.
Some fantasy world you live in.
No one should have to take a cut in Pay. The City should be able to come up with some other means to make some money. Have more FRIDAY CHEERS are something. There has to be a way for people not to loose their jobs and to at least maintain there current pay. If the memebers of the city council can’t be a bit more creative and come up with a better answer, then maybe they should step down and give someone else an oppertunity.
Dear Martha,
Thats right the teacher are not getting their step increases. Guess what else they are not getting? A 3% pay cut. Employees of the City were told that ALL employees would recieve the cut, which is now obviously a LIE. I would assume your a teacher, and let me say Thank you for educating our children, but the rest of the City employees took 2 and 1/2 furlough days to cover the amount that your department overspent their budget. By the way the rest of the city employees would like a “Thank you” for bailing your department out. How can those who educate our children make an error in excess of $400,000? Miscounting a number here or there would explain some but not $400,000. I ask you this simple question. Is the starting salary for a teacher in the City of Lynchburg above or below the regional average for Central VA? We already know that our police and fire are the lowest paid in the region.
Poet, now we know why you have had so many jobs in your career. No one on any board has said that police and fire personnel or better than other city employees. All they are saying is that they are different. I encourage all city workers to stand up have their say about the cuts. This city has more than enough capital to pay each employee. These people who criticize the police and fire for standing up against this bull, should be standing beside them instead trying to get what they deserve. Don’t criticize people for standing up for what they believe in.
As for present occupation, driving a haz-mat truck is an extremely important job, I would like to see your research showing the inherent dangers. By the way what agencies are out there protecting you by conducting motor carrier and hazmat inspections? What agencies do you call when your truck leaks or shifts?
The teachers aren’t receiveing a pay cut. They also aren’t getting their “step” increase and there have been layoffs or reduction in force among teachers and staff. There haven’t been layoffs for the police.
I believe that must be what you are talking about “eyes”.
Our Ward III councilman wouldn’t reduce his salary either.
The police, fire, EMS and dispatchers who are heading up this rally are arrogant and selfish, and if they can’t live without 3 percent of their pay, they’re likely living above their means. The pay cuts should be across the board. Just because their jobs appear more inherently dangerous than other city jobs, doesn’t make it a reality. They are important, no doubt, but they should not be immune to the pay cut. All of the city’s employees work together to make Lynchburg a nice place to live. Just because some departments don’t require you to run into burning buildings or arrest people doesn’t mean that they are less important to the big picture, or that their employees are less worthy of a full paycheck. Quit whining and be team players.
jimbof, that post doesn’t even pass the laugh test. Are you saying by PD directing traffic, or moving a dead animal, those single acts make them more important than the depts that are there to do the actual work? Absolutly ridiclous.
Stop and think Jim, you can’t justify making PD more important than any other dept by these specious outlandish argements.
Everybody is hurting and everybody has to share in the solution.
As to this:
You obviously have one of those city jobs where your not routinely working everynight, every weekend or on holidays. Do not criticize or attempt to compare your job to those men and women that run towards the fire, while you run away or run after the guy with the gun while you cowher down in the corner
More desparate silliness.
Not only have I been a police officer, I’ve been a corrections officer and bouncer as well. So take that ‘cower in the corner’ crap and shove it.
Though I’ve never been a fireman, I have gone through some live fire excersises. I am very familiar with what both depts do.
That still doesn’t make them more special than the rest of us… period.
At present I drive a haz-mat truck, highly flammable and high explosives. I’m under constant terrorist threat, and face all the hazards of the road.
I do work nights, weekends, holidays, in all kinds of weather, terrain and conditions.
I accept the inherent dangers of my job and the time demands.
This deity status you want to place the PD in because of their inherent danger is just ridiculous. That comes with their job, same as my risks come with my job.
Here’s some truth you might want to chew on Jim, not that it matters to you.
The 2009 list of the most dangerous jobs in America places PD in 6th place and firefighters are in 5th place.
My job is 3rd on the list. I’m 3 times more likely to get killed than any police officer is. Since I’m more likely to get killed than the police, does that give me special status? Let me hear the arguement that I’m different and special.
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