Friday, June 18, 2010
Kaplan and Quan Disagree with Perata on Cop Pay Cuts
Politics / People / Law Enforcement & Crime Robert Gammon — Fri, Jun 18, 2010 at 10:24 AM
Oakland Councilwomen Rebecca Kaplan and Jean Quan believe that the city’s well-paid police officers should agree to compensation cuts to help balance the city’s $31 million budget deficit, but ex-state Senator Don Perata indicated in a recent interview that cops have already sacrificed too much. The sharp disagreement among the three leading mayoral candidates offers insight into how they would deal with budget crises in the future, and it reveals their political allegiances.
Earlier in the week, Quan voted to begin the process of laying off 200 Oakland police officers if cops refuse to start paying 9 percent to their own retirement plans. Currently, police pay nothing toward their pensions, while firefighters contribute 13 percent and other city workers pay part of their retirement plans as well. A majority of the council wants that to change. And they note that because police and fire take up 75 percent of the city’s general fund budget, there are few other places to cut.
Kaplan also pointed out that Oakland police, whose salaries start at $71,000 annually, make more than their counterparts in other cities. The Tribune noted that starting pay for NYPD is about $44,000. “We shouldn't have to pay double what New York City has to pay,” Kaplan said, according to the Trib. “We shouldn't have the highest-paid workers paying a lower percentage into their pension than the lowest-paid workers.”
But in a video interview with East Bay blogger Zennie Abraham, Perata empathized with Oakland police and indicated that they already did their fare share when they agreed to compensation concessions last year. “They got concessions — good concessions — from police and fire a year ago,” Perata said, referring to councilmembers. “We knew, when those were made, they never bothered to have any ongoing discussions. Then they start jamming people from the dais. And I'm getting a little tired of picking on the guy that does the work.”
Perata said the council should vote on "$15 million" in cuts first before asking city unions to make further concessions. He did not, however, identify what those cuts would be. In addition, he said that Oakland police should not face pay cuts because their jobs are too dangerous. The Oakland police officers’ union is strongly backing Perata for mayor.
Comments (7)
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Seriously, what's the point in libraries and all the other fluffy things if you can't visit them safely?
Cost is determined by supply and demand and the cops aren't going to queue up to work in Oakland if they can get a similar deal in a safer city. We have A LOT of crime here. A lot. So we have to pay a higher rate. It's called economics so I'm not surprised that Jean Quan doesn't get it.
Quan killed the police acamdemy that was central to making Meaure Y succeed. Last year, she rejected the police union offer to contribute to their pensions in exchange for a short term fix of $31M in concessions from them. She pushed through the 35% raise in pensions for public employees in 2004, AND backdated them (we'll feel this looming 9-figure disaster in next year's budget). She was at the helm of OUSD finances as it went bankrupt (that didn't happen overnight - she cut and ran).
Enough of Quan, she's spent. Moving on, solving our crime problem has to come first. Without that, we've no hope of retentaining and attracting families and business. Without them, we've no tax base to fund all the extra services Oakland wants.
Kaplan and company's value of public safety is going to continue taking us down this path complete and utter failure.
Call Perata what you like - central premise is that he's right. We can ignore him and in exchange get more of the same. I, for one, have had enough of this city council and it's populist pandering that dodges the big issues. That's what's got us into this fiscal hole.
So I'll take the candidate with the balls to make unpopular decisions. Yes please, give us the Don.
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No wonder Perata was scared to show up to the debate last week.
Perata is bought and paid for by the Police Union and it shows because he's putting the police union ahead of Oakland. Typical old politics. Typical cronyism. Typical Don.
As long as his cronies are taken care of he doesn't care about the rest of us. Unfortunately for him most people have caught on to his game.
It is a city known for church shootings, car jacking and the violent deaths of its young people and police officers. Is it New York? No. It's Oakland. How about a city that reveres its cops (and firefighters) and rightfully honors them because they RISK THEIR LIVES for residents everyday? Oakland? Nope. New York? Yes!
There are 34,500 police officers in the NYPD. Their starting salary is $44,744. Here is a sample of how they are recruited:
* 10 Paid vacation days during first & second year
* 13 Paid vacation days during third, fourth & fifth year
* 27 Paid vacation days after 5 years of service
* Unlimited sick leave with full pay
* A choice of paid medical programs
* Prescription, dental, and eyeglass coverage
* Annuity fund
* Deferred Compensation Plan, 401K and I.R.A.
* Optional retirement at one half salary after 20 years of service
* Annual $12,000 Variable Supplement Fund (upon retirement)
* Annual banking of $12,000 Variable Supplement Fund after 20 years of service (if not retiring)
* Excellent promotional opportunities
* Educational opportunities
* Additional benefits are available to military personnel.
Check it out: http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/faq/faq_…
Kaplan thinks we "shouldn't have to pay double what New York has to pay". She's right. We should pay triple. We have 803 cops. 803. They are severely understaffed. There are more cops in SF, which is, like New York, a popular tourist destination. Connect the dots! People visit, work and live where they feel safe. Oakland's crime problem is not an "image" problem. It is a REAL problem. Our murder rate is higher than New York's!
According to Quan and Kaplan, these officers need to sacrifice more to pay a debt created by mismanagement -- hell, let's call it what it is: graft and corruption. I wouldn't trust Quan play "store" with a five year old! By virtue of their oath to protect and serve, police officers agree to give everything, every day they are on the job. Too bad the same can't be said for city council members.
Last year, I needed help from police. I was terrified and called 9-1-1. When the two officers arrived, I was relieved. Words cannot express how thankful I am for the men and women in blue! They are worth every penny. We must support our police officers and their families with words and actions. If that is too much to ask, call Kaplan or Quan if you need to be rescued from one of Oakland's "image problems".
Sounds like some of you did not attend the budget discussion in East Oakland, where the audience fervently supported the idea of Oakland police taking their share of the cuts. It's a matter of math-- when police and fire take up 75% of the budget, and you have to cut $31 million, you can't do it all on the backs of the other city services-- it would mean eliminating the library AND parks and recreation and you'd still be $7 million short!
2. Check the facts about Jean Quan's efforts on behalf of the school district. She was the only school board member who asked the OUSD COO, the County Chief Financial Officer AND the independent auditors if there was enough money to extend a pay raise to the teachers in 2003. All those "experts" assured her there was. Then, AFTER she left the school board, they discovered that she was right and they were wrong. Her efforts during her 12 years on the school board fixed schools with leaky roofs, seismically retrofitted auditoriums at schools that are designated Red Cross Shelters in emergencies, rebuilt two schools that were dangerously close to earthquake faults, provided funds for lower class sizes, libraries, music and art and technology in the schools.
3. The bottom line here is that by its charter, the City of Oakland must approve a balanced budget by June 30. I don't want to have a city that is only about highly paid cops. If our kids cannot go to safe libraries and recreation centers, if our seniors have no support, than ALL this city will be about is fighting crime. There's a lot more to Oakland than it's crime statistics!
Hey Gammon: Recently, I've made known on these pages my contempt for your style of "truth" journalism, not to mention my observation that your personal, venemous attacks on Don Perata have reached clinical level mass. (You really do sound more like Glen Beck every day!) But if I was Don Perata, I would mail your COP story to every Oakland voter in November. You are talking to a very small audience -- and the voices inside your head -- if you think Oakland voters want to balance this budget on the backs of the cops. The rudderless, leaderless city council continues political business as usual, and you're apologizing for them in order to continue to make your case about Perata. Extremely foolish, because, at least on this one, you're making HIS case! It would be good to have a source of reliable, factual information about the upcoming city elections instead of your continuing screed against the candidate most impartial analysts consider to be the front runner.
For years, I've been trying to get a straight answer from Quan regarding the hundreds of millions of dollars squandered while she was on the Oakland School Board. The only renedy Quan comes up with is to enact more taxes. Just look at your utility bill or EBMUD bill. Maybe Quan should show by example and donate her council salary and office expenses to the general fund for Oakland.
This is nothing new about paying top salary. Just look at the department director's salaries and compare with like-kind municipalities around the country.
Perata's right on this one. Public safety must come before everything. Unless we solve our crime problem, we'll never be able to attract the tax base to fund all the other services that we want to provide - kids first etc.
It's disturbing that Kaplan and Quan can't see that. Who'd want to be a cop in Oakland when you can get the same pay in a safer city? We have enough problems with officer retention, even with the danger money.
Also shows that Quan can't budget. They knew this problem would come 360 when they negotiated with the cops last year. It's band aid after band aid with her - geez: the unaffordable Measure Y was Quan's accounting miscalculation too.
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