More Layoffs at JSO

[TheCat]

http://www.youtube.com/v/4DnNEgIOnfU

[Garden guy]

Personally id rather not allow this right wing conservative sheriff decide what happens to our city. Is this sheriff trying to run for the next mayor? Hes getting a big fat retirement while the rest of the citizens starve...he runs to taxes when his people are threatened but when our children cant read or write but he says oh no dont you touch my taxes for kids...hipocrit....he sings the same song as evert other conservative.

[mtraininjax]

All the Council has to do is raise the millage rate so that the property taxes collected in 2012 will be the same in 2013, its a number and they can then peg it and sell it. So even though the rate rises, we pay the same as we did last year, to keep the cops.

Question is, are you willing to pay what you paid this year, next year, for the 300 cops and a safer Jacksonville. Taking them off the streets will not make us safer.

[Tacachale]

All the Council has to do is raise the millage rate so that the property taxes collected in 2012 will be the same in 2013, its a number and they can then peg it and sell it. So even though the rate rises, we pay the same as we did last year, to keep the cops.

Question is, are you willing to pay what you paid this year, next year, for the 300 cops and a safer Jacksonville. Taking them off the streets will not make us safer.

+1.

[downtownjag]

I've been told Jacksonville is one of the only municipalities that allows cops to drive their cars home and while off duty.  I've also been told this is a massive number on the JSO expense line.  The vast majority of cities require the police force drive their own vehicles when off duty.

I know their can be an argument made for having those cars in neighborhoods, but I don't think it's worth the cost and it's unfair to people who aren't in a neighborhood with a police officer.

(Don't believe everything you hear, I know)

[duvaldude08]

I'm not sure if the sole answer is throwing more money at the department, but something has to be done to make sure THIS is not allowed to happen again:

http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2012-07-17/story/saturday-night-flash-mob-takes-over-jacksonville-wal-mart

My big question is this: are the resources of the JSO being utilized to their best? I have no doubt that they work hard, I have to say that because I truly believe it. I'm just wondering if there are more things that can be done in crime prevention for Jacksonville even if there are budget cuts.

Weill this can happen anywhere regardless of how many police are on the streets. There are not many wal marts that are heavliy armed with multiple police officer's either. That was a totally unexpected occurance.

[NotNow]

I've been told Jacksonville is one of the only municipalities that allows cops to drive their cars home and while off duty.  I've also been told this is a massive number on the JSO expense line.  The vast majority of cities require the police force drive their own vehicles when off duty.

I know their can be an argument made for having those cars in neighborhoods, but I don't think it's worth the cost and it's unfair to people who aren't in a neighborhood with a police officer.

(Don't believe everything you hear, I know)

No, most Florida Sheriff's Offices and many agencies across the nation have the same policy.  Several studies years ago showed that the so called "Indianapolis Plan" actually saves money by extending the life of the cars. 

I can't answer the "fairness" issue.  Cops live in middle class neighborhoods.

[ronchamblin]

Given that the JSO budget issue is still with us, I modified slightly my former post on the subject, and offer it below.


The safety of individuals is an emotional component, and so it is given a high priority in the determination of police department budgets.  Therefore, anyone attempting to cut a sheriff’s budget, even though cuts might make good sense, is portrayed as being careless or negligent, with the result that during good economies the sheriff's department can balloon to a size obscenely large for the community it serves, with the consequence that tax dollars which should go to libraries, schools, teachers, youth programs, job training, job creation, and other programs designed to reduce the fundamental causes of crime in the first place, are wasted on a bloated agency.  Because of a lack of strong and sensible leadership, and because of a momentum of inefficiency, a habit set in the JSO long before the current sheriff, the JSO thrives on the very conditions caused by its own inefficiency, which is its habit of taking funds needed for programs and entities as stated above, which, if implemented, would otherwise reduce the need for policing.   

A glance at the dynamics involved in all governmental agencies should illuminate the crux of the problem with the JSO budget.  The JSO is a governmental agency which does not have the benefit of the pressure of a competitive marketplace to enforce and promote efficiency and excellence of service.  When a private firm has poor leadership, performs inefficiently, and does not effectively address the needs of its customers, it fails.  When a governmental agency such as the JSO has poor leadership, performs inefficiently, and does not effectively address the needs of the community, it not only survives, it asks for more money so that it can hire more police to bloat the agency, and perpetuate its mediocrity.

With increased training and improved operational policies, the JSO could reduce its force by 30% and achieve the objectives set before it.  And if the funds saved by this reduction were targeted to programs and assistance to needy individuals who otherwise would end up jobless and in the jail cycle, the force could eventually be further reduced because of the decreasing crime rate.  Our policies of ignoring the root causes of crime, and the JSO’s habit of growing its empire is a vicious circle which will only worsen if we do not curb the funding of the JSO and route funds to programs as stated above.  Reducing the funding to the JSO will tend to force efficiency within it.

Whereas a private company achieves objectives with efficiency and excellence, the governmental agency achieves objectives with a massive work force and a massive budget, the swollen budget being the root cause of too little funds being available for schools, teachers, libraries, training and job programs for youths â€" precisely the things needed to make the JSO less necessary in the first place.  We are creating a population of youths who will be engaged by the jail system simply because they have been left out of the loop of getting attention by way of effective programs and services as a result of excessive tax funds funneled to the JSO.   

Whereas the crucial motive force for excellence and efficiency in the private company is the competitive market place, the key motive force for excellence and efficiency in a governmental agency such as the JSO is effective leadership and a low to moderate budget.  Perceptions of a bloated agency, of inefficiency, of a lack of excellence in performance, of waste, along with a sense of mediocre leadership, not only cultivates poor morale amongst the officers, but it allows for poor performance, and even occasions of indifference and arrogance toward the populace they are set to serve.  A tightly run ship, running lean, increases morale and performance.  How often does one see indifference and arrogance in a successful private concern?  Zilch.  How often does one see indifference and arrogance from individuals within the JSO?  Frequently. This behavior is a consequence of poor leadership from the top, and a consequence of poor morale and a lack of focus as to ultimate purpose.  Morale and performance waivers as employees observe moods of waste and indifference, and when they sense a lack of strong and effective leadership at the top.


In my business experience, both as an employee and a business owner, I’ve become aware that without good leadership, many work force environments are set with a condition wherein 60% of the work is done by 30% of the people.  And I’ve come to the conclusion that, by changing attitude alone, and given focus, an employee can produce twice the work as might earlier have been the case.

We need as much funding as possible to support quality education, to reward dedicated teachers, for programs to help the young wayward and needy find their path to independence and productivity in our society.  Our senseless system wherein we ignore the youth and other needy only insures that they remain in need, that many engage crime, and that the jails remain full.  Our history of focusing only on funding an inefficient JSO at the expense of funding programs to ultimately decrease the need for the JSO, is a consequence of poor vision, of complacency, of being too comfortable in our shells.  Continued blindness to the dynamics involved in the scenarios above will only prolong the expense to all of us, and to the suffering of those in the jails, on the street, in the ranks of the unemployed, and in the shelters.

Those who argue against paying reasonable taxes to pay for schools, teachers, educational programs, youth assistance, reasonable and sensible assistance for the needy, job training and creation, should realize that they are reaping the consequences of too-low taxes, by way of increased crime, followed by an increased JSO budget, and not enough funds for positive societal investments.  The habit of playing politics with taxes, when there are fundamental necessities urgent for the achievement of societal objectives and quality of life for the majority, is a shameful and irresponsible behavior, selfish in the extreme, and should be avoided by any politician who desires to be remembered as a true leader, and a benefit to his or her community.   
 
Show me a young man reared in our community who is in jail, and I’ll show you a young man who was deprived of a good childhood, deprived of a mentor, deprived of guidance and supervision, deprived of youth programs which take over where parents fail.  Criminals are not born, they are created by the society within which they live.  The youth do have choices.  But the choices are limited too often to those of crime by the local environment.  If there are no jobs in our local environment, and no reasonable assistance for those without jobs, crime is too often the choice made by those who are not prepared for other options.

Show me a young black youth who has little education and no skills and I’ll show you a young black man who will most likely be in jail within two years.  Why?  We, as a community, have failed our young people, especially the black youth.  Look at the prison and jail population.  Look at the cost of incarceration to our community.  And some, the comfortable and the complacent, those who play with politics at the expense of our population, wish to additionally fund the JSO instead of funding entities and programs which, if implemented, would preclude the need to further bloat this agency. 
   
There are those who continue wasting tax money fighting the destructive consequences (crime and full jails) of actions or inactions, when they could eliminate the consequences if they would make decisions to eliminate the causes of them.   










     

[mtraininjax]

Ron - I agree with you on the fact that the JSO could slash waste in its operations and back office areas. I would think the City Council folks on the finance committee would ask, hey, why do you need an HR staff when the City provides one for all the agencies in the city? Why do you need 40 people in IT, when we have a very good IT department in the Hogan building? Logistics, records, the list goes on and on and on. The fact that the Sheriff has raised his budget by 130 million over 9 years, shows me that Peyton allowed him to do so, I think Brown should re-think all that expense, because the number of officers on the street has remained flat during that time, but the backoffice has expanded.

[ronchamblin]

Ron - I agree with you on the fact that the JSO could slash waste in its operations and back office areas. I would think the City Council folks on the finance committee would ask, hey, why do you need an HR staff when the City provides one for all the agencies in the city? Why do you need 40 people in IT, when we have a very good IT department in the Hogan building? Logistics, records, the list goes on and on and on. The fact that the Sheriff has raised his budget by 130 million over 9 years, shows me that Peyton allowed him to do so, I think Brown should re-think all that expense, because the number of officers on the street has remained flat during that time, but the backoffice has expanded.

Thanks mtrain... makes sense to question all that back office growth too.  These governmental agencies can grow into monsters which will make impossible our city's much needed programs which would, by their existence, decrease the need for a ballooning JSO.  BTW, last night, I sent my revised post as above to each city council member and the mayor.

[venture]

Or we could stop persecuting the populace for the human condition and focus on violent crime...

That accounts for a lot of law enforcement presence in today's society unfortunately. It's sort of set up to justify their existence in a lot of ways. Especially when we're talking about stuff like writing tickets to random drivers for going 10 miles over the speed limit, seat belt fines (that do absolutely nothing but bring in revenue), busting people in that pesky "war on drugs" we've been throwing money at for decades, and other non-violent crimes. Don't forget that America only makes up around 5% of the world's population, but 25% of the overall prison population in the world.
I'm not saying taking away officers is a good thing, when put towards the right things that actually benefit society & aren't just the rackets the system has set in place for itself. There's a LOT of that in this country, and the world in general. Not just law enforcement, but tons of other stuff. The problem is identifying & pinpointing them, looking past the bullshit.

I couldn't agree more. Far too much of law enforcement has been focus on traffic violations. At times they seem like little more than an armed collections agency.

Furthermore I am sure that there is plenty of waste in the system (like there is with any business, especially a government department) that could be eliminated and save at least a few of those jobs. Our Sheriff threatened to use this tactic as a show of his political power and displeasure at the Mayors imposed budget. Much like the military they use fear to get an blank check from the tax payers. I applaud the Mayor. It's our money and he remembers that.

[SkiTeke]

Two problems with this - Our property value has decreased - i.e. we lost money. We raise millage to compensate this year - our values eventually increase (hoping) and the millage rate increase means we pay higher taxes each year that happens. Doing this puts a tap in homeowners pockets for decades not weeks... I can't sustain job loss and higher taxes. So the real question is how much for how long are these jobs worth. There is so much waste in city government there are bound to be common sense cuts that don't affect the police and fire city servants. Raising taxes or millage is not the answer long or short term. especially not in this economy with the highest foreclosure rate in eons. stressing the citizens is like trying to squeeze the last bit of juice out of a rind. unfruitful. I don't agree with Rutherford here in his demand for higher millage, but I think we as citizens need to look at the budgets and follow the money.

All the Council has to do is raise the millage rate so that the property taxes collected in 2012 will be the same in 2013, its a number and they can then peg it and sell it. So even though the rate rises, we pay the same as we did last year, to keep the cops.

Question is, are you willing to pay what you paid this year, next year, for the 300 cops and a safer Jacksonville. Taking them off the streets will not make us safer.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

I couldn't agree more. Far too much of law enforcement has been focus on traffic violations. At times they seem like little more than an armed collections agency.

Just to throw it out there on this point - if you get a criminal citation (basically a  traffic ticket that requires a court appearance) DWLS, DUI, No/Exp Insurance, No/Expired Registration etc. etc. in Duval - the court fees alone are $303. 

Driving a motorcycle without the proper endorsement also falls under this catagory.   

I don't know what all the acronyms stand for, but here's the breakdown:
LEEA: $5
CCT: $50
LGTF: $60
TNC: $3
SOCIF: $50
AACC: $65
SAIEF: $50
CSTF: $20

The judge actually made the comment when assessing everyone (apporx. 65 people this AM x $303 = $19,695 in 2.5 hours) the court fees, "At least the city didn't raise taxes." 

[Scarlettjax]

Well, after tonight's City Council vote, one more year's reprieve for the people on the chopping block; and one more year of drug treatment for those who really need it.  Maybe in the coming year, we can work together to sort out any number of things that are really important for the future of our city...because most of us plan to be here then, too.  It is becoming more and more evident that sitting on the sidelines won't make things better.

If you didn't watch it last night, Jacksonville's program for youth at risk was featured on Beyond Scared Straight on A&E.  While you may not agree with all the program components, it has changed most (but not all) of the participants in a positive way.  To do nothing, changes nothing. 

[Charles Hunter]

I heard the CSOs had their last day last week.  Does this money allow them to come back?