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I am one member of a five person board. The opinions I express on this forum are mine only, and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the Escambia County Staff, Administrators, Employees, or anyone else associated with Escambia County Florida. I am interested in establishing this blog as a means of additional transparency to the public, outreach to the community, and information dissemination to all who choose to look. Feedback is welcome, but because public participation is equally encouraged, appropriate language and decorum is mandatory. Although this is not my campaign site for re-election--sometimes campaign related information will be discussed, therefore in an abundance of caution I add the following : Political Advertisement Paid for and Approved by Jeff Bergosh, Republican, for Escambia County Commissioner District 1








Friday, June 19, 2020

Defund the Police? Wait....What??



Yesterday during our Board of County Commissioners meeting we had three speakers that wanted to discuss defunding our sheriff's office.

The first speaker, a young lady from the Fort Walton Beach area, discussed the need for more social services and for "reduced" police budgets.

After her comments, I explained to her that every year we struggle to have enough revenue to adequately fund our sheriff's office.  I told her about the difficulties the ECSO has had with retaining deputies.  I told her I was concerned about even having the ability to hire enough law enforcement officers given the current state of issues in America today.  I asked her "Who would want to do this work?"  I asked her if she was talking about "defunding" the police----as I have heard that term floated in the media and online.  I told her that was a ridiculous idea that I would never support.

Then, the other two speakers got up.  The second speaker took the opportunity to say I was "rude" to the first speaker. (I wasn't)  He got animated when he said "Defunding the police isn't abolishing the police!"

The third speaker got up and said he believed we should "defund the police" but that the term "defund" didn't really mean to defund them--just to reallocate their funding to "other" social programs for the community.

"Come on, you know that's what it means the money just goes to other programs, it doesn't go away--don't be Ignorant!"  He exclaimed angrily toward the dais.

But most of the people in the room didn't seem to understand what he meant--and we're not ignorant. It's just what he was saying doesn't make sense.

Defunding means just what it says.  Defunding.  Taking the whole budget.

Watch this discussion between these speakers and I at this video link, from minute 8:45 forward....

Reducing a budget would seem to be what he was really advocating for.   So why not say "reduce" instead of "defund?"

Because if an organization has its budgets "defunded"--that results in a total loss of service such an organization can provide.  A police force or sheriff's office cannot operate without a budget--because personnel cost money and they have to be paid. Organizations have costs: facilities, equipment, fuel, benefits costs, pension costs, etc. etc.  No Law Enforcement Organization can operate on NO budgeted funds.

If it is a reduced budget--well that is a different thing all together--but equally disturbing.

If it is police we are talking about, less funding (via a reduced budget) would be absolutely disastrous, it would lead to diminished training and equipment budgets and fewer personnel out in the communities keeping us safe.  It is an absolutely ludicrous, ridiculous idea that is not grounded in reality.

No rational policymaker anywhere supports "defunding" police budgets.  Not even Joe Biden. Nobody supports this. Because it is ridiculous.

 Actually, we need increased budgets for enhanced training, better pay, and MORE police.

Yes,  MORE police keeping us a country of law and order--because when someone is robbing a bank, holding a teller at gunpoint--we need trained police to respond, not a "rapid-response social work team."  When a violent, dangerous drug dealer is shooting his gun into a house or all over a neighborhood--a substance abuse counselor cannot help this situation--and if we sent a substance abuse counselor out to address the violent, armed drug dealer--such a counselor would likely get shot himself/herself.

No.  We need MORE law enforcement, well trained, well equipped, and well compensated.

Now more than ever.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jeff

Of course the mindset makes absolutely no sense to many of us and we are attempting to be understanding about the BLM and celebrations etc but to really try to understand what is going on, you must take a search and look up the world wide socialist party video and their attempts to describe what is going on in the USA. It will look like an upside down inverted view of what I would say, normal working class citizens think.

They say it with a straight face that Trump considering sending in the military to quell violence was a coup and is a danger to democracy.

You have to see this for yourself to see what has been implanted in Gen Z and other people's way of thinking.

It's hard to try to discuss this online because of the people getting fired for trying to figure it out, and stating what seems obvious to them.

It reminds me of the movie Divergent when they flipped the switch on Dauntless.

You know the 7 habits to be effective, to seek first to understand rather than be understood?

Some people actually think that the military and law enforcement are the evil in society...where others see the criminals and people who don't get a job and steal from them are the wrong.

As in many things there are layers in between and complexities.

They talk about evil imperialism and the ruling class etc, when many of us just worked our asses off and don't know WTF is going on.

It is a social revolution, I think it was planned and not spontaneous.. maybe a little bit of both.

They think the police are the predators while some of us think they are the heroes.

It is a class struggle. the idea that capitalism is evil. In the south the planters were the ruling class and slaves the labor, so they are exploiting that identity and struggle in a modern day USA.


Even in CHOPs some one was disturbed when some one stole their laptop, and the leaders said think of it as a donation.

The ideal of hard work, respect and law and order are mocked and unpopular..

They say the ruling class will not concede power it has to be taken by force.

Dangerous times.



Anonymous said...

There is so much hatred and deceit stirred up toward our President and his supporters, straight out of the Aulinsky playbook and the Resistance has been ongoing since 2016, I fear for what may be to come.

One of my first memories is my family's shock and despair thinking the world was at an end over our young president JFK's assassination and turning off the TV so we would stop seeing the reel. My Daddy was on his way to Viet Nam and in California that day.

I remember subsequently waving to Lady Bird Johnson on the whistle stop train tour..


He is in his 80's now and this is very disturbing for the ones who know about war and violence and political upheavals that are real in the world.

Good bless our police and the young minds that are stirred to political action when we are in fact the most free and less oppressed country in the world.

Your neighbors are not the enemy, at least not yet and I hope it doesn't come to that.

I can not have any contact with those who are trying to overthrow our government by any means necessary. That is treason.

Anonymous said...

Hmmmmm, if only you had the same attitude towards the fire department.

Anonymous said...

Groups popped up nationally called "'hunting racists " and they are going to f/b profiles and ruining peoples livelihoods and harassing people who question the agenda labeling them racist just because of an opinion. Facebook is leaving the groups up while people harass others, call child services just for offenses such as a flag picture or saying all lives matter. They seem like the thought police in 1984. The purge hiding under the label black is effective. Anyone proudly condoning that is ignorant and base and a traitor to our country. https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/black-lives-matters-a-thing-of-the-left-anchored-on-a-cop-hate-strategy/ Families of our law enforcement are frightened and you are the only one who has stood up to the assault on American values and freedoms in the county. Santa Rosa school board needs to take a stand.

Jeff Bergosh said...

Anonymous 7:05--This thread is about the attack on police in our country at the moment. Police are under attack literally, figuratively, and in the media. Vilified, derided, betrayed, and back-stabbed. The Fire Fighters are not under attack. As a matter of fact, we have worked hard over the years to increase your pay, and you know this. 3% raises yearly going back many, many, many years. And we are bargaining with you all now...Yes, bargaining and I listened to the latest session. Wow. Everyone should listen to it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ta1LE6TThPk&list=PLYP6oPuWyBadVJCWW5K-M1Fm2ZNgc4JA1&index=3&t=0s So yes, we are working on your contract. But this post is not about that--it is about our Law Enforcement being attacked and very few standing up to the BS attacks on them. I am standing up for them.

Anonymous said...

Did you see the attacks on our representative Gaetz? People have to stand up and say enough of the extreme discriminatory Black Identity politics and the lies of the far left. We see what you are doing.

TEMPERS FLARE IN JUDICIARY COMMITTEE

The ongoing discussion on police reform and racism in this country involves everyone. If we are going to root out injustice, all Americans, regardless of their skin color, must work in unity.

I thought that principle was self-evident — especially for my Democratic colleagues in the House who have campaigned on fighting what they believe to be systemic flaws in our criminal justice system.

Unfortunately, I was proven wrong. Democratic Rep. Cedric Richmond tried to exclude me from the conversation on injustice because of my skin color. It’s a typical Democrat ploy, but one that went too far this week. During the Judiciary Committee’s markup of the Justice in Policing Act of 2020, Rep. Richmond said:

“It’s not about the color of your kids. It is about black males. Black people in the streets…if one of them happens to be your kid I’m concerned about him too. And clearly I’m more concerned about him than you are!”

I have raised my Cuban son, Nestor, to respect everyone — regardless of their ethnicity or cultural background. Frankly, it is an embarrassment to the United States Congress for an elected official to tell me he cares more about my family than I do.

On Thursday, I joined Tucker Carlson with Nestor to discuss the Democrats’ hypocrisy on matters of race. I hope we can move past this chapter in our nation’s history and live in a time where the color of someone’s skin isn’t used as a substitute for judging their values or political views."

They have tried to smear Gaetz. They are disgusting and vile.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the you tube link.

Anonymous said...

Watch this https://amac.us/democrats-allow-communists-to-infiltrate-their-party-across-the-nation/

Anonymous said...

Did they send in the guidance counselors and new community leaders into the drive byes and stabbing and shootings in the commune ity?
Better not mention it or you're a racist.




Anonymous said...

Your right, the fire department is currently not the one under attack from the public. We are just constantly attacked by you and your views of the fire department. And you know we are grossly underfunded on our budget but you refuse to look at those facts or do anything about it. But whatever. There was a point where your police department was grossly underfunded and you never chose to do anything about it. It took the sheriff to go to Tallahassee to seek funding from y’all on the board.

Anonymous said...

Please get a message to the Mayor and staff and board of Pensacola. They are caving in and the chamber of commerce is on the side of the BLM activists to remove the monument to the confederate veterans in Lee Square.

If they win this they will not stop. They will be emboldened and have nefarious agendas. They are going for Stone Mountain next.

This is a very disruptive agenda tearing at the very fabric of our country. The PNJ is running a false narrative taking that part of history and reducing it to an issue of a simplified dichotomy and false equivalency of moral high ground. The period of Reconstruction in the south was complex. The confederates were actually disenfranchised until the failed government of the radical republics during the military occupation departed

The 1619 project foments this idealism of perpetual victim for one race,for all time up until now which is not only false but it is dangerous to the USA. Contrast 1776. of the Woodson Project.

What is happening is stoking the fires of racial division and the purpose is to dismantle the Rule of Law and the Constitution of the United states of America and remake it into a Socialist State. That can not happen.

Pensacola put a stop to the left with the Bay View Cross for the rest of the Country, they need to put a stop to this here also. For the Greater Good.

Please get this to him.

Cancel Culture is attempting to put an end to free speech and Americanism as we know it

https://www.heritage.org/celebration-america

There are some very important links in this link above. ^^^

Seriously we need to listen when they say they are calling for liberation,to defund the police. to dismantle the system. When they tell you who they are-- listen the first time!! They are attempting to change USA to a communist country.

Leave the monument in place. So NO.



Benjamin Bergosh said...

The person before mine is just mad and letting his anger. We can’t defund the police what happens if someone breaks into you’re house if we defund the police then we cannot have any protection we should be nice to our county commissioner because he’s trying to help us. Let’s say theirs a fire in you’re house should we defund the firemen so that you can be burned alive while you’re sleeping this is complete stupidity.

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