As a former manager who handled police salary negotiations locally, I can say that we might consider different metrics. The public safety sector unions here will always point to Maricopa County for comparisons. Maybe we should be looking at crime rates per thousand to learn the effectiveness of departments with competing salary schedules. Are we getting “our money’s worth” per hours paid? (Yes, I know reporting differences produce wanky numbers). But we need to look past merely comparing salaries and benefits.
With all this said, I do believe local first responders should be paid competitively.
Joe, Thanks for the update. You know I've been doing economic development in one form or another for 30 years, and this whole NDA/secrecy thing is just weird. Not to be paranoid, but there's more here than meets the eye.
Concerning your question about a pay raise and hiring new Tucson police officers. I have served as a police commissioner in several municipalities and learned from experience that if you do not stipulate income equal to or better than that of other departments, you will pay the new hires to go through a year of demanding and intense Police Academy training, followed by the Field Training Officer (FTO) program. They work with experienced officers using their academy training in practical settings. FTO programs gradually increase trainee responsibility with supervision. FTOs assess performance, give feedback, and address deficiencies as needed. After one year, the rookies will have their law enforcement license in force and can move on to a financially healthier city, county, or state department that offers better pay and benefits. You have invested government money and time to train the recruits, only to lose them to a more forward-thinking municipality who are remarkably thankful for your investment.
This has been a problem for a long time it seems. A cat and mouse game between the COT and other regional municipalities - who can afford to pay more as pay raises are easier to offer when their overall force is much, much smaller.
If I had really believed that Prop 414 would have led to more police hires, I would have voted for it. Unfortunately the powers that be in the city would rather spend $40 million for a pedestrian path through the golf course than hire more police officers.
If more police officers are hired and retained, will less overtime be available, resulting in lower pay in the long run? I think we need more officers at competitive pay levels.
I am curious about what else the budget is being spent on. First responders should be well trained and well paid to respond to emergencies. Is the city spending money on military-style weapons or technology that might look cool to some but don’t really support public safety?
Wrong question asked. How about asking how much lower are Tucson public safety paid compared to their peers with less call volume? More call volume- more ptsd, exposure risk, physical abuse, but less pay, lower morale, more unplanned retirements. Of course the city struggles to fill positions. The pay is a fraction of other communities, but volume of work is more.
It's the same old, very old, senario: working people on payrolls live month to month, compete for scarce crumbs while the oligarchs write the rules and avoid paying taxes and instead finance political campaigns.
Thank you for the continued great coverage on all things Project Blue. However, there is still one elephant in the room. Where, when, and how big is the 'second data center '? More mystery here than a game of Clue. Why do I feel like we are being bamboozled?
This is a great question. There are probably a total of three planned locations, one along the pipeline route and another on the west side near Marana.
We are fairly certain that BP/Beale/Humphrey Peak/Amazon have NOT bought the parcels and are watching the recorder's office for large purchases.
As a former manager who handled police salary negotiations locally, I can say that we might consider different metrics. The public safety sector unions here will always point to Maricopa County for comparisons. Maybe we should be looking at crime rates per thousand to learn the effectiveness of departments with competing salary schedules. Are we getting “our money’s worth” per hours paid? (Yes, I know reporting differences produce wanky numbers). But we need to look past merely comparing salaries and benefits.
With all this said, I do believe local first responders should be paid competitively.
Joe, Thanks for the update. You know I've been doing economic development in one form or another for 30 years, and this whole NDA/secrecy thing is just weird. Not to be paranoid, but there's more here than meets the eye.
Concerning your question about a pay raise and hiring new Tucson police officers. I have served as a police commissioner in several municipalities and learned from experience that if you do not stipulate income equal to or better than that of other departments, you will pay the new hires to go through a year of demanding and intense Police Academy training, followed by the Field Training Officer (FTO) program. They work with experienced officers using their academy training in practical settings. FTO programs gradually increase trainee responsibility with supervision. FTOs assess performance, give feedback, and address deficiencies as needed. After one year, the rookies will have their law enforcement license in force and can move on to a financially healthier city, county, or state department that offers better pay and benefits. You have invested government money and time to train the recruits, only to lose them to a more forward-thinking municipality who are remarkably thankful for your investment.
This has been a problem for a long time it seems. A cat and mouse game between the COT and other regional municipalities - who can afford to pay more as pay raises are easier to offer when their overall force is much, much smaller.
If I had really believed that Prop 414 would have led to more police hires, I would have voted for it. Unfortunately the powers that be in the city would rather spend $40 million for a pedestrian path through the golf course than hire more police officers.
If more police officers are hired and retained, will less overtime be available, resulting in lower pay in the long run? I think we need more officers at competitive pay levels.
While I can't speak for the city, I believe that is the consensus but it is a multi-million (annual) issue.
The police and firefighters need to be paid more, and there needs to be more of them.
Hi! I think the Tucson City Council agrees, the issue is funding.
1) A Glendale firefighter makes more than a tenured Tucson Fire Captain.
2) when you’re underpaid and have mandatory overtime due to understaffing, your wage is higher correlating with more hours worked.
The City always finds a way to keep punishing our public safety officers.
I am curious about what else the budget is being spent on. First responders should be well trained and well paid to respond to emergencies. Is the city spending money on military-style weapons or technology that might look cool to some but don’t really support public safety?
I've looked at what the city of Tucson bought in the past and didn't see any .. tanks.
I am aware of a Hummer but haven't seen it on the streets in awhile. (It seemed to be used for recruiting.)
The Marshall Project mentions an interesting item in their list for Tucson. An Air Anti-Tank Defense Missile System. (This was 11 years ago.)
"https://www.themarshallproject.org/2014/12/03/the-pentagon-finally-details-its-weapons-for-cops-giveaway
This website outlines a lot of funding the city has sought thru grants recently.
https://policefundingdatabase.org/explore-the-database/locations/arizona/tucson/
Wrong question asked. How about asking how much lower are Tucson public safety paid compared to their peers with less call volume? More call volume- more ptsd, exposure risk, physical abuse, but less pay, lower morale, more unplanned retirements. Of course the city struggles to fill positions. The pay is a fraction of other communities, but volume of work is more.
It's the same old, very old, senario: working people on payrolls live month to month, compete for scarce crumbs while the oligarchs write the rules and avoid paying taxes and instead finance political campaigns.
Thank you for the continued great coverage on all things Project Blue. However, there is still one elephant in the room. Where, when, and how big is the 'second data center '? More mystery here than a game of Clue. Why do I feel like we are being bamboozled?
This is a great question. There are probably a total of three planned locations, one along the pipeline route and another on the west side near Marana.
We are fairly certain that BP/Beale/Humphrey Peak/Amazon have NOT bought the parcels and are watching the recorder's office for large purchases.