We're certainly very far from perfect--but we do try.
We gave starting firemen $10,000.00 raises. We gave ECSO 6%. We bumped up our corrections officers, We increasand EMT and Paramedic pay, we offered signing incentives/bonuses to increase recruitment, and we finalized the ECAT contract. Lots, if not most, of our employees and other constitutionals did and will receive pay increases
But some employees for the BCC did not get raises.
And this, apparently, has led to some significant consternation which bubbled up into the candid and frank email blast late last night from Chips Kirschenfeld, Director of Natural Resources Management.
What did Chips say about the budget? read it below. He's certainly entitled to his opinion--and I respect his willingness to be open and say it. Our jobs are not easy, and it will never simply be a reflexive "let's raise tax rates" as some administrators would like. Not for my vote. We work within our means, we do the best we can.
We're certainly very far from perfect--but we do try......
4 comments:
Although I wish that Chips would have voiced this before or during the meeting, I'm really relieved he put this email out and that somebody finally said the thing, and respect him for going down on paper with it. Commissioner Bergosh, you're aware that I've been banging the gong on the workforce problems at the county for a long time, and have increased my pitch on it lately as the situation has become worse.
Current staff are not happy with many aspects of their employment, and it's not just financial--there is a leadership vacuum and toxic workplace at the County that occurred under the previous administrator's tenure, and it's not something that Wes Moreno or any other administrator is going to be able to get control of on a dime. This is the predictable result of building an instantaneous, top-heavy, over-paid and wasteful bureaucratic nightmare of County Administration (and that includes the "Ethics and Compliance" office--big quotes there) who then set about running off and whacking management and veteran staff who had institutional knowledge of how things SHOULD be run when they are running properly. Middle management and boots on the ground are miserable as a result--it's bad enough when you're not getting paid enough, but to have to deal with chaos and stretched workforce day in and day out on top of that?
With the explosive cost of living in Pensacola, people can barely afford to work for the County as it is. Savvy employers saw which way the wind was blowing and did the smart thing--they raised their hourly to the coming minimum immediately, and even are going above that. This isn't a "people don't want to work" problem. There are no more people who don't want to work than there ever have been. This is a "people aren't going to work at a job with low pay that doesn't afford them the basic necessities" any longer.
The County has also done nothing to protect the workforce during covid, so of course the insurance costs are skyrocketing even above the norm. While you have a percentage of County staff who are heavy covid deniers, there are many who are very resentful of having to risk their health to come to work in an unsafe atmosphere that encourages lunatic conspiracy theory to run rampant.
Ignoring problems and pretending that's the best that can be done is not good enough. One of the things I have always respected about you, Commissioner Bergosh, is that you're not afraid to take on the big problems once you recognize you've got one for real. I hope this email has inaugurated some understanding that the workforce problem can actually get worse at the County--and quickly. There are a lot of good people there who just want to see some sign that the BOCC understands that the raises it is giving should have already happened a couple of years ago, and that the staff who are left out of the union contracts are justifiably bitter. What I hear most often is "they just don't get it." And I have tended to agree that the commission just doesn't seem in touch with day to day realities of people here who aren't living an executive lifestyle. So I really hope this email will be a launchpad for a eureka moment, if you don't want that open position count to shoot much higher in the very near future. Thank you for having the integrity to make it public.
Spot on. As a long time employee, the employee morale is the lowest I’ve ever seen it. Leadership does not listen to or appreciate staff. Middle and entry level staff are being crushed by workloads, missing or incompetent managers, lack of resources, and inconsistent implementation of policies and procedures (if followed at all). Ask yourself, why would someone want to come work for the County? Why would someone want to stay?
Since Doug Underhill is typing and messaging that it is wrong to have discretionary funding available to commissioners, I think clearly he should take his allotment and have it put toward these employees. He should put his money where his mouth is. He won't, he is just a scam talker. Barry knows it too. I am also counting the days until he is out of there.
I know you have the leeway to have the funds in case something comes up in your district. He just tries to play off that just like he says about not taking retirement, when he certainly does at the same rate of contribution as the rest of you.
Watch ECW typed thread coverage of the budget hearing. Such bitter negativity spouted with that one. Snark Snark.. Complain, mutter under breath. She should sign off and move on.
County and city jobs are not the highest paying but they do have benefits above the private sector for the most part.
Are they aware of how much more the insurance is costing the taxpayers?
True first responders and squeaky wheels get a "stipend" or what ever it was called and the sheriff department got a raises no drama (what a difference from the Haines/Morgan Dupe the Welsh days) but the dedicated quieter folks should also be awarded.
Is there something you can still do? Like a Paid day off, or stipend or at least something?
Being appreciated is worth a lot, also not being under duress and stress -- even flexibility is a bonus.
I think you will have more problems with the CO working around prisoners..They have had to shut down the work release as you know.
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