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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
Posted by ( In The Middle ) on May 19, 2009 at 9:21 am
I would like to think that every city employee holds a necessary job. I do not know of any who are on the payroll simply to warm a chair. Yes, police officers are important, but no more important than anyone else
Dear sir or maam: Hope that your chair is warm, as for your lack of understanding the world today. We can only hope that you too will one day understand how society works.I ask you to answer your own questions about the dangers of police and fire work. While your answering them, answer a couple for the rest of us. When is the last time you heard of anyone calling 911 to get a librarian? maybe a trash collector? perhaps a museum director? I would venture you can’t recall. Now answer when the last time you or someone you know has called 911 for the police or fire? I bet the answers are a little different?
ALL city employees are important and deserve more, but if you feel that police and fire are not different, then call the library, city dump or other agency when you need help, and allow the police and fire the time to go assist the citizens of the city that need it.
I too take issue with the notion that the aforementioned groups should be immune to pay and/or budget cuts. Interestingly, whenever this type of discussion takes place, the fear mongering follows. No different than when military cuts are discussed. I concur with the comment that the police, in particular, should be closely and regularly analyzed with respect to effectiveness rather than being given carte blanche with little or no accountability. And should one question the financial commitment to law enforcement may I suggest a trip to Clay St. where one can see every imaginable law enforcement “toy” known to man. If the police don’t want to cut salaries then they should be required to find somewhere else to cut this 3 percent just like other departments.
From what you read it would appear that the other police forces in the area pay more than Lynchburg. If this is true then an adjustment should be in order. Of course, there is more to pay than salary so if the benefits are equal then the pay should be adjusted.
This has nothing to do with budget problems and shortfalls. If all city employees are taking a cut then they all take a cut with no exceptions.
Brad Ferguson, our first-rate Fire Chief, has the right idea and the right take. It is a shame that for years the police dept has been allowed to labor on without the kind of leadership that would keep these problems from arising.
It is time for some changes at city hall but if they cave on this issue then it just goes to show that they don’t know how to make smart, well reasoned decisions when these issues are decided.
I would like to think that every city employee holds a necessary job. I do not know of any who are on the payroll simply to warm a chair. Yes, police officers are important, but no more important than anyone else.
If their job is really so dangers, give us some statistics on how many were killed, or injured, in the line of duty last year. Probably not any. Furthermore, if crime is increasing, perhaps they are not doing the kind of job that deserves an increase. In the private sector people do not get paid to produce poor results.
The city leaders had better hold the line against this type of behavior. To cave in to this type of behavior and attitude will only hurt the city. The police need a change in attitude or they need to get on to somewhere else. I think we need a higher turnover rate.
“I hate to take any money from one organization and give it to another,” said Officer Doug Childress.
Well where do you expect to “take” the money from Officer Childress? Perhaps from the taxpayer’s money tree?
It is counterproductive to pit departments within the city against each other. Divide and conquer doesn’t work here. It makes other departments like refuse collection, maintenance,museums and libraries and others resent you.
It is unfortunate that it has come to this but Lynchburg is in way better shape than Roanoke and some other cities.
Everyone in the 90’s became drunk w/ money and weren’t careful w/ planning… NOT just the city of Lynchburg ! Take a look at your own finaces and see if you managed them any better than the city. How about that huge SUV you bought ( think roundabout) as opposed to a more economical car. The big house as opposed to one more affordable ( think Craddock Terry Hotel).
IF every city employee LIVED in the city and paid taxes to help support the city that would help. I wonder what the % is of city employees who live in Bedford and Campbell counties?
When my mother worked for the City of Roanoke our family had to live in Roanoke city. We gladly did!
There is one segment of public safety and service that is over looked. How about Human Services why should their pay be cut. The truth be told all public safety and human services namely Adult protective and Child protective services are mandated to provide for the safety and welfare of the citizens as much as the PD, FD and 911. These three agencies play an equally vital role in the welfare and safety of city residents. Salary reductions in these key areas is a really good way to put the citizens of this city in jeopardy. How about cutting out spending on non essential items like a round about, or the Craddock Hotel, or spending $72,000 a year for a parking manager for the downtown area. City politicians and the manager need to get a clue. Stop shoveling money you don’t have out the door and start managing it and spending it for services that matter to those people who put you in office. Maybe we need a to look at changing the Lynchburg governmental structure.
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