Monday on the Wake up Call: Discussing Crime and Crimefighting with Escambia Sheriff Chip Simmons

Today on the wake-up call live on WPNN 103.7 ---we welcomed to the program Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons—who joins us every Monday at 7:00 AM.  We discussed several local crime related stories and also the work his foundation is doing in the community.  After we spoke with the sheriff, we had a deep dive on local topics of interest and we went through a host of local, national and international stories of interest- discussing multiple issues from around the country that traditional media outlets just won’t cover---because we will always cover interesting, important stories that are not politically correct and won’t otherwise be reported.  That’s what we do on the Wake Up Call!  😊

We are live each weekday morning from 6:00AM-8:00AM on WPNN-Pensacola's Information Station, where local, conservative morning-drive talk radio is ALIVE and Well and where we give you the most powerful 2 hour(s) in local morning drive talk radio.

Pensacola's only conservative, local morning drive talk show giving you information, weather, traffic, humor, and educated, intelligent discourse with no PC filters....The Wakeup Call with Jeff Bergosh on WPNN FM 103.7: Radio UNRESTRAINED!

- you can listen to this morning’s show here

 

Escambia County's Equestrian Center Could be the Location of Next ECSO Substation (and a Community Resource Center)

I had the opportunity to meet and speak with Sheriff Chip Simmons and Chief Deputy Andy Hobbs out at the Equestrian Center in Beulah yesterday.

The topic was the rapid growth out in Beulah in District 1, and also the need for a Sheriff's substation in the Beulah Community.

As District 1 Field Representative Jesse Casey and I discussed the location with Sheriff Simmons and Chief Deputy Hobbs, the reasons for this location became very clear.

"If we can have a location out here, it is very central to Beulah and it allows us to quickly get to all the local schools including the ones on Longleaf if that became necessary" said Sheriff Simmons.

Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons, Escambia County
Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Andy Hobbs, and D1
Commissioner Jeff Bergosh Discuss an ECSO
Beulah Substation, 5-30-2024, at the Escambia
Conunty Equestrian Center

"With Beulah's population estimated to grow by tens of thousands over the next several decades, this location in the center of Beulah makes the most sense for a substation."  Said Hobbs.

I asked the Sheriff and Chief Deputy if we could co-locate an upgraded resource center for the community and they seemed open to the idea-- once security concerns could be addressed.

In speaking with County Administrator Wes Moreno on the topic, he was positive as well.

"Sheriff Simmons and I have discussed this location and I think it is a great idea, I am all about it." said Moreno.

The ideal area where such a substation could be located on the Equestrian Center land, complete with parking, appears to be the northwest corner, right on Mobile Highway, where a second driveway already exists.

Look for this to be discussed at an upcoming meeting of the full board and also look for some continued discussions with the Sheriff's office on this topic.

It could be a win-win for both the ECSO and the Beulah community!

Thought's on the Gun Violence Reduction Task Force Meeting

Are guns the problem?  Or--is it crime, drugs, societal breakdown, breakdown of the family, un-diagnosed mental health issues, rank social dysfunction, and a culture of violence in some pockets of the community that leads to  and manifests itself as the "gun-violence" we've seen in Escambia County?

Yesterday evening from 5:30-7:00 PM Sheriff Chip Simmons hosted the final Brownsville Gun Violence Reduction Task Force Meeting at the Brownsville Community Center.

About 100 citizens attended, as well as locally elected and appointed officials to include three county commissioners (myself included), the county administrator, a city councilman, our state senator, one of our two state representatives, multiple representatives from the school board- to include the Superintendent and one school board member- as well as others associated with the court system and the media.

The objective:  To hear public input and for each stakeholder to report in on the specifics of what his/her organization has done and is doing to improve safety in the Brownsville community.

My counterpart, Commissioner Lumon May, kicked the discussion off by listing a huge amount of projects and initiatives the county had undertaken in Brownsville.  Stormwater infrastructure, sidewalks, community centers, sports leagues (tennis and basketball) a new library in Brownsville, the youth employment program, the construction of affordable homes, and a host of other programs.

Similarly-the newly appointed interim superintendent of schools discussed some initiatives he will be bringing back, to include peer-to peer mentoring and conflict resolution strategies.  He also reported that he will be a partner to the Sheriff in creating a safe atmosphere in schools.

Interestingly--a majority of public speakers chastised the sheriff and law enforcement in particular--saying they felt "Brownsville was being over policed" and multiple speakers pushed back on the Sheriff for saying the violence and murders thus far this year has been chiefly "black on black."   After a number of speakers expressed dismay that the sheriff would use this term--he (Sheriff Simmons) gave the stark facts.  "There have been thirteen murders in the county this year.  All thirteen perpetrators were black, as were 11 of the 13 victims.  These are the facts and I am not going to hide this" he stated to the room which was silent upon hearing this enlightening, factual statistic.

I spoke and thanked the stat for funding mental health facilities in the community and I focused on mental health (undiagnosed, untreated) as a big factor in the violence we see.  I also discussed some of the economic development initiatives the county has undertaken to create more jobs here.  Finally, I ended my comments explaining how the county is approving new residential development so that the extra supply will help to ease the housing affordability issue we are seeing area wide.

The meeting ended on a note of optimism with several speakers giving praise for the group's efforts and work.  One young man in particular keyed into what I said about mental health shortcomings in the community leading to the violence.  He gave his own story-- a violent recovering addict who is changing and celebrating 8 years of sobriety while also giving back and mentoring folks in the community where he now lives (Jacksonville).  His story was compelling.

We will have more of these sorts of roundtables going forward.  Potential next topics were enunciated by the Sheriff:

Fentanyl crisis

The Clergy's role in community issues

Gentrification

School issues

So look for community action and meetings to come on these topics.

Multiple Phased Approach Needed to Curb Gun Violence Locally....

 

Yesterday evening, 11 locally elected representatives and one local pastor as well as the Pensacola Police Chief met at the Brownsville Community Center for the second Sheriff’s Roundtable on Gun Violence.  The event had about 50 citizens from the area in attendance, as well as multiple media outlets and various office staffers.

About a dozen speakers addressed the panel.  Various ideas/topics were broached.  The overall theme from the citizens was that areas of poverty produce the violence—so anything that the local governments can provide to such areas will help stem the tide of the gun violence we have seen.  Jobs, infrastructure, more programs for youth, and more police patrols were some suggested solutions.  In a nutshell—more services and money invested is what most of the speakers wanted to see.

After public forum concluded--each of the panelists spoke and described recent actions their respective organizations have taken to assist with this problem.  The group ended the discussion after about an hour and forty minutes, settling in on the idea that the entire panel would descend on one neighborhood and bring all the available services from each represented entity to this one area in a “blitz” of the neighborhood --for lack of a better term.  I fully support this, although we will see if such an initiative carries over and has staying power long term to help curb gun violence.  It will take events like this combined with much more, to turn the tide.

For my part, I offered specific, tangible ideas I would fund, and ideas for which I would advocate, built from the comments I made at the initial meeting where I described the current violence (as well as other social ills we see) as a symptom of a much larger issue—the complete breakdown of the American Family, acute in areas where we see extreme levels of violence and crime.  No families, no fathers, no religion, cultural acceptance of dysfunctional conduct, and NO guidance for too many youths growing up in the cesspool of a cultural meltdown with such children being “raised” by the entertainment industry’s products promoting the glorification of violence and antisocial behavior. 

I believe the issue is massive and will take a holistic, wide ranging set of  short-term, medium term, and long range approaches to turn.  It will take decades.  It takes families, and it takes fathers.

In Pensacola, as in other cities, we see a significant amount of gun violence that manifests from areas of generational social dysfunction and poverty.

Sheriff Chip Simmons has sponsored  community roundtables to allow us (local leaders) to brainstorm practical solutions.  At the first such roundtable meeting heldlate last year—a large and diverse group of community leaders, pastors, law enforcement personnel, school district leaders, and other elected officials got together to discuss the problem with an eye toward solutions.

And the sheriff was direct in asking for ideas and tangible solutions that could be implemented by each participant within his/her individual sphere of influence.

Yesterday as we met again, we interacted with one another and the members of the community that came to the event to have their voices heard.  I left my suggestions, below, with the Sheriff,----- and I described a few to the panel.

No easy, fast solutions exist short of martial law in some crime-ridden areas and the construction of more jail space—but if we have the courage to identify the real root causes and begin to work on these big issues that drive the dysfunction—we will see improvement over time.

But it takes decades to fix what has taken decades to unravel and devolve.   My proposed, initial list of suggestions below:

 

3-Year Buget Deal between BCC and ECSO on Tomorrow's Agenda

The proposed 3-year funding agreement between the BCC and ECSO to be considered tomorrow is the latest demonstration of this Board's support for public safety, first responders,  and law enforcement

There is a fairly profound agenda item on tomorrow's BCC regular meeting agenda.

Over the last several months, staff and personnel from the county and ECSO have been working toward a multi-year budget deal for the ECSO.  

The BCC had a similar, 4-year deal negotiated back in 2018.

If the board approves this deal and the Sheriff signs it--the two entities will have a deal that makes the budgeting for the next three years "plug and play."  No drama like we have seen before, no billboards, no negativity, just a fair and straightforward three year deal that provides what the ECSO needs--including significant yearly pay increases in each of the next three years--- while simultaneously necessitating NO tax rate increases for citizens and NO raising of the Sheriff's MSTU.

This will be a big deal if passed and enacted--which I feel fairly certain will happen.

It demonstrates this board's continuing support of public safety, corrections,  and first responders--as this comes on the heels of us providing historic raises and bonuses for ECFR, EMS, and corrections.

While it is easy for some to denigrate us and attempt to falesly accuse this board of "not supporting" public safety-----those false assessements fall flat in the face of our demonstrated support for public safety and first responders through our actions via this budget.

And this potential 3-year deal with ECSO is just the latest example of this effort and commitment. 

See the backup for this three year deal here.

Making Sausage, Part III

Most people don't want to know what goes into the sausage dog they are enjoying at the BBQ--because making sausage is messy, it's a lot like politics.

The Escambia Board of County Commissioners recently settled the sheriff's budget appeal for 2018, and now that this is behind us, all of the transcripts of our 7 shade meetings related to this matter are a public record.  

Yesterday afternoon, board members received the following email from attorney Alison Rogers:

"Commissioners,

Just a note to let you know that Jim Little of the PNJ requested and has now received copies of all seven of the Sheriff’s budget appeal shade meetings.

 Please do not email back, but do get with me if you have questions.

Alison"

So this means within the next couple of days, one or more news articles will appear, and more than likely some of the more choice exchanges from these transcripts will be published void of the context that generated the exchanges.  In an effort to get ahead of this, I will be publishing all of these transcripts, in their entirety, so citizens can read them for themselves if they so choose--.

It is like the old saying, these deals are like "making sausage"--it's messy, stuff goes in, stuff comes out, and most people "don't want to know" how the sausage was made.  The internal deliberations of the sheriff's staff will never come out--so in some respects this is not fair.  But oh well, at least we got the deal done and we have a 4-year deal. Case Closed.

But because we are a public body, subject to open meeting laws, all of our private deliberations are now fair game for those who want to look.   So I'm releasing the final three transcripts from March and April of this year.  They are here, here, and here.  Bon Appetit!  (and full disclosure--I wouldn't publish these if they weren't going to be coming out in dribs and drabs void of context in the media in the days and weeks ahead...)

Making Sausage, Part II

Grinding Meat to Make Sausage is a messy process--that's why most people don't want to look at how it is made from the slaughterhouse to the Publix meat case; people just want to enjoy eating the delicious finished product.  Politics, and especially heated debate, is sometimes compared to grinding meat to make sausage---for good reason...

The Escambia Board of County Commissioners recently settled the sheriff's budget appeal, and now that this is behind us, all of the transcripts of our 7 shade meetings are a public record.  Yesterday afternoon, board members received the following email from attorney Alison Rogers:

"Commissioners,

Just a note to let you know that Jim Little of the PNJ requested and has now received copies of all seven of the Sheriff’s budget appeal shade meetings.

 Please do not email back, but do get with me if you have questions.

Alison"

So this means within the next couple of days, one or more news articles will appear, and more than likely some of the more choice exchanges from these transcripts will be published void of the context that generated the exchanges.  In an effort to get ahead of this, I will be publishing all of them, in their entirety, so citizens can read them for themselves if they so choose--in their entirety.

It is like the old saying, these deals are like making sausage--it's messy, stuff goes in, stuff comes out, and most people "don't want to know" how the sausage was made.  The internal deliberations of the sheriff's staff will never come out--so in some respects this is not fair.  But oh well, at least we got the deal done and we have a 4-year deal.

But because we are a public body, subject to open meeting laws, all of our private deliberations are now fair game for those who want to look.   So I'm releasing three more of these transcripts from February and March of this year  here, here, and here.  Lots of frank dialogue in here, lots of interesting conversations.... (and full disclosure--I wouldn't publish these if they weren't going to be coming out in dribs and drabs void of context in the media in the days and weeks ahead...)

Making Sausage, Part I

Most people that enjoy sausage don't really want to watch what goes in it...our recent budget fight was messy, a lot like making sausage, and now it is all going to be published (or at least the most messy parts)

The Escambia Board of County Commissioners recently settled the sheriff's budget appeal, and now that this is behind us, all of the transcripts of our 7 shade meetings are a public record.  Today, board members received the following email from attorney Alison Rogers:

"Commissioners,

Just a note to let you know that Jim Little of the PNJ requested and has now received copies of all seven of the Sheriff’s budget appeal shade meetings.

 Please do not email back, but do get with me if you have questions.

Alison"

So this means within the next couple of days, one or more news articles will appear, and more than likely some of the more choice exchanges from these transcripts will be published void of the context that generated the exchanges.  In an effort to get ahead of this, I will be publishing all of them, in their entirety, so citizens can read them for themselves if they so choose--in their entirety.

It is like the old saying, these deals are like making sausage--it's messy, stuff goes in, stuff comes out, and most people "don't want to know" how the sausage was made.  The internal deliberations of the sheriff's staff will never come out--so in some respects this is not fair.  But oh well, at least we got the deal done and we have a 4-year deal.

But because we are a public body, subject to open meeting laws, all of our private deliberations are now fair game for those who want to look.   So I'll start out with this one first, the Shade Meeting of the Board from October, when we were just starting to formulate a strategy.  Lots of frank dialogue in here, lots of interesting conversations.... (and full disclosure--I wouldn't publish these if they weren't going to be coming out in dribs and drabs void of context in the media....)

Doubling-Down on a Big Lie....But Why?

"When one lies, one should lie big, and stick to it." Joseph Goebbels 1-12-1941

It came to my attention very recently that a member of the ECSO complained loudly to a person I know that "We went 6 years without raises"  Disturbingly, this person also singled me out for criticism.  "He [Jeff Bergosh] doesn't want us to get raises!"

Here are the multiple problems with these assertions, which are straight-up  LIEs.

#1.  This individual knows, or should have known, that despite being attacked all summer long with insults and ad hominem attacks by the ECSO---the BCC still came to the table and funded a 3% raise for all ECSO employees for this year.  This makes the 6th straight year the BCC has funded the ECSO with 3% raises.

#2.  Upon a look at this individual's W-2 earnings from the ECSO, the last three years income picture for this person looks like this:

2014

$40,420.66  (total compensation paid excluding side work which is accounted for via 1099 form that is provided by any private company that pays off-duty wages)

2015

$45,665.39  (total compensation paid excluding side work which is accounted for via 1099 form that is provided by any private company that pays off-duty wages)

2016

$49,884.67   (total compensation paid excluding side work which is accounted for via 1099 form that is provided by any private company that pays off-duty wages)

So, in looking at the total compensation paid to this individual, it is clear that year over year from 2014 to 2015 his total compensation increased by roughly 12.5%, and between 2015 and 2016 his compensation increased another 9% year over year.  (I don't know if that increase was due to overtime, a pay raise, a merit raise, and educational raise, and assignment pay increase, or shift differential pay increase, or uniform allowance increases,  or leave that was bought back--I have no way of knowing these things.  I also do not know how much more this individual earned working side jobs as an off-duty deputy making $25 dollars per hour.) But his total compensation is increasing.

And the second big lie is saying "We went 6 years without raises!"  What six years is my question?

ECSO Personnel have been funded for raises in 14 of the last 18 years, and 7 out of the last 8 years,  according to this chart provided by.....ECSO.  I wonder why people continue to lie about this, what is the purpose of that....knowing it will be easily debunked

Answer: there are not six years that ECSO was not funded for a raise in the last 18 years.  That lie is debunked by Tab 13 of the ECSO's own appeal of the budget this year---indicating that over the last 18 years, ECSO has been funded for some sort of a raise every year except 4 years during the recession.  So the big lie that is being repeated (That ECSO went 6,7,or 8 years without raises) is nothing more than that.  A big lie.  But why lie about something that is very easily and completely debunked already?

Attachment 13: Time Line of ECSO Raises

This graph, provided by ECSO, shows Entry Deputy Annual Salary has increased 53% and that some sort of salary augmentation has been given to employees in all but 4 of the last 18 years.  

Attachment 13 of the binder containing the documents associated with the ECSO's appeal of their 2017-2018 budget is entitled "Time Line of ECSO Raises."  There is a lot of interesting data that can be gleaned from just this one tab.  As I go through the binder this weekend ahead of Monday morning's strategy meeting of the BCC, I find myself coming back to attachment 13.  What does it show?  There is dissonance between what has been stated and what this document shows.....


----For the period from 2000-2018, Base Pay for deputies has increased roughly 53% from the year 2000 starting pay level

----This equates to an average annual base pay increase of nearly 3% per year to the starting pay for "Entry Deputy"in this time frame

----Some form of pay raise or salary increase has been given to ECSO personnel in all but four (4) of the last 18 years--according to this chart provided by ECSO.

----Although ECSO personnel have stated to me that deputies have gone "7 years without raises" --the graph provided by ECSO does not corroborate that statement..It clearly disputes this assertion.  What seven years?

On Good Morning Pensacola Today

I was just Interviewed by Don Parker and Jim Sanborn of 1370 WCOA about issues related to the budget, the ongoing tension with the Sheriff's office, and other issues of importance.  I was specifically asked about Thursday's meeting where we will discuss, once again, the LETF process that the State Attorney advised us to engage in. 

Interesting interview, with lots of dialogue on these subjects that constituents will want to hear.

Part I here

Part II here

WCOA Interview 9-11-2017

This morning my interview with Don Parker and Jim Sanborn was broadcast on AM 1370 WCOA.

We had a great discussion about numerous topics--to include: the Jail, the bid protest of the jail, the global settlement of the jail explosion from 2014, the current state of the budget, the state of the disagreement with Sheriff Morgan over his budget request, and also a lengthy discussion of the disbursement process of the County Law Enforcement Trust Fund.

I also briefly discussed what could be a budget breakthrough that could provide for employee raises.

I always appreciate the opportunity to appear on this program!

Full interview can be heard here 

Could there be a Budget Breakthrough Coming?

There is a potential budget breakthrough coming this year, stay tuned for more details....

As I have said all along, I won't support raises for one group ahead of others, regardless of what I am called and regardless of how I am attacked personally for this stance.

I've done public budgets before--this is my 11th year doing them--and nobody gets 100% of what they want ever--that is just the nature of the beast.  If everyone gets everything they demand then nobody will operate in a fiscally responsible manner because people always want more.  This is an axiom of truth ringing especially true in the public sector.  I have said I support all first responders and I value what they all do for us to keep us safe.  I can't imagine that this is not a universal feeling shared by our entire community and nation---especially as we witness the heroism in the face of Hurricane Harvey in Texas.

But should we play favorites though?  Is one "group" more important than others? Should one "group" get pay raises when others do not?  I think if we start playing favorites this will lead to big problems and that's why we need to be balanced in our approach to giving pay increases if the budget allows.

Because If you are dying on a highway after a massive traffic collision, believe me the EMTs and paramedics are the most important public servants in your world at that moment.

When your house is on fire--the most important public employee to you is the firefighter who is rescuing your family, your pets, and trying to save your house.

When you have a massive, ongoing, and significant drainage problem threatening your house( as many in District 1 do currently)--County Engineering is the most important group to you.

If you're poor and you get hit with a big legal issue--the public defender, probation officer, and the judge are the priority.

And yes, when a prowler is breaking down your back door in the middle of the night--the police who respond to save you and catch the bad guys are the most important people in your world.

So who is the most important public employee?  Attempting to define this is a fool's errand that  I won't  run.

So it is with great relief and with a measure of optimism I report that, without raising year over year property tax millage rates on existing property owners, there may be a significant breakthrough coming that will benefit all employees this year.  

It is a possibility and it is because folks have been working diligently behind the scenes despite the negative attacks, despite vocally prolific  naysayers that remain unaware of the work taking place behind the scenes in county staff offices.  People are working, people are trying to do the best they can despite some community elements publicly proclaiming they "have no confidence" in the BCC.

All I'll say at this point is stay tuned Friday.  Look for more details to be unveiled.

LET Funding: Process for Disbursement of Funds to be Discussed at Tomorrow's Meeting

After doing a significant amount of reading over the weekend, in light of this very embarrassing article which popped up online on Saturday morning and was in the print edition of the PNJ on Sunday--I feel the BCC needs to discuss the Law Enforcement Trust Fund (LET) process.

I say the article was embarrassing because it was.  For the BCC's part, I believe we can do a better job at being more involved in the process, because at the end of the day-although only the Sheriff can recommend allocations from this fund-- we are the approval authority for the expenditure of these funds.

Under the current process we are utilizing--we simply reimburse the ECSO out of the LET fund for checks that have already, in some cases, been written and cashed out of the ECSO general fund.

But what if the expenditure is questionable?  What if the BCC does not believe that a particular expenditure (out of the dozens and dozens made yearly) is appropriate under the statute?  Under our current system, we have no control, no check and balance function, and no recourse.  The statute is clear, the BCC must take a more active role in the process, and AGO Opinions are clear that the BCC has the final say in whether or not an expenditure should be authorized.

A letter from the SAO last year described some overall areas of the process that could use refinement as well, and I have heard from numerous constituents that want a greater role for the BCC in this process.  So I am listening and I will discuss this with the full board tomorrow morning.