Town Manager & the CPD
With regard to Thursday's special meeting of the full Council (you know... the one for which I got one day's notice)... I will have a question for the Town Manager and/or Council:
Since the "goals & objectives" currently include:
Objective: Continue aggressive employee recruitment effort to ensure high degree of staff professionalism.
Perhaps we should expand that to...
Objective: Strive for 100% turnover of CPD staff.
I mean... we already managed to lose three officers last year. (And yes, I'm pretty sure it was four officers who actually left. But since one had been planning his retirement for years... knowing that he would hit the 25-yr pension tranche and be done... my concern is focused on the other three officers.)
I guess I just have to wonder if all the stories I keep hearing about the "rank'n'file" being disgusted with the top brass... could they be true?
Or maybe we just shouldn't discuss this? Maybe this discussion is better held where all the other important discussions are held... behind closed doors? Maybe we should use the approach employed for the coverup of The Corruption Memo? (You know... the one where it was appropriate for the Town Manager and Council Chairman to both have knowledge of The Corruption Memo... yet withhold that information from me.)
Oh wait... I forgot. Cheshire believes in "open government." Yes... our Democratic Council believes in little "d" democracy. They do, don't they? I mean, they would never mislead anyone or speak untruths, right?
Right.
So I'm sure the Council and Town Manager are just itchin' to have a discussion on CPD staff turnover. I'm sure they're looking forward to a frank and open discussion on that.
Tim White
"These aren't the droids you're looking for. You can go about your business. Move along."
5 comments:
If you want to stop the losses, how about paying a competitive wage and benefits package. One of the officers who left recieved a 5000 raise to go to the town next door.
recieved a 5000 raise
That's a fair point, but it still doesn't address the biggest concern... senior management.
Besides, there are lots of reasons why people may leave. Take for instance last year's campaign platforms for (seemingly) all candidates... "public safety is #1."
Yet when it came to the budget and Jimmy Sima's call to not cut a police officer (to be funded thru a reduction in the pool budget)... we saw where everyone stood on that... rejected by a 5-4 party line vote... with the Democratic majority voting to cut a police officer from the budget.
And this was after the March 25 meeting in which the TM made very clear that the police officer position would not be cut.
Again though... why are there concerns about senior management?
If he got a $5000 raise to go to Waterbury or Wallingford he/she deserves it.
It was not actually a "raise" , they pay all thier officers with similar experience 5000 more per year. Cheshire is actually one of the lowest paid in the area.
What is the starting salary for a new police officer in Cheshire?
If this other officer went to Waterbury then they deserve all the extra they may get. There's no comparison with being an officer in Cheshire vs Waterbury.
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