Replay--65th Coffee with the Commissioner Public Safety Roundtable Discussion

We had our 65th Coffee with the Commissioner yesterday--and it was a very interesting discussion about the County's Public Safety Division.

Lots of positive changes coming, lots to be optimistic about!

You can watch the roundtable discussion by clicking the video linked above.

Sent: My Response to the PNJ's Denial of My Guest View Submission

Campaign season or not, I won't stop sending "Letters to the Editor" and/or "Viewpoints" to the PNJ just as I have for the last 13 years...They can print them or not.  If they don't print them, for irrational, specious reasons-- that's their call.  I'll simply read them into the record at our public meetings instead.  😃

Here's what I sent to the PNJ when they finally responded to my initial request for a chance to refute their January 12th hatchet piece editorial.   They did finally respond with a NO to my request, after I had to send a second email (they blew-off the first one).   But the accompanying reasons for the NO were outrageously specious.

Bottom Line: They want no dissent, they have their own narrative, they will attack us (and whomever they want)  at will and however often they choose-------- and they do not want to hear from local elected officials that disagree with them and they'll manufacture reasons to deny a rebuttal op-ed.

Here's my response to their NO.

Lawsuit Against Escambia County Citizen Melissa Pino Dropped by Escambia County Medical Director Rayme Edler....

Via this filing from yesterday afternoon.

Answers Received....

Late last night I did receive answers to those portions of my initial 7 questions that were not answered regarding what I believe to be the unusual treatment of one employee in particular at EMS over the last 7 months.

Apparently, a member of the HR staff sat down and asked our employee, the medical director, to answer the questions or portions of the questions I had put forward that HR staff could not they, themselves, answer.

I have more questions now, based upon this response, and some of these answers do not square with what others have stated.  I will probably have follow on questions to these answers--but at least they got me these answers.

Here they are....I'll let these answers "speak for themselves......"

Questions Asked--Awaiting Answers: Part III

Legitimate questions regarding policy implementation and policy compliance  deserve timely, complete responses from relevant staff.  Incomplete responses, ignored emails, and/or non-answers will only invite more scrutiny and more questions........

It's the holidays.  I get it.  Everyone is out on leave, away for the holidays.  People want to enjoy the holidays and I do, too.

But the wheels keep turning and things still have to happen.

Emails sent to highly-paid staff should be acknowledged at a minimum and answered promptly as a matter of practice and courtesy.

Unfortunately, I have had to ask lots of specific questions about the way an employee was treated over the last 7 months.  I have sat down in meetings with staff that have assured me that "Things were handled properly, we will get you the documents you have requested that will prove this!"

But this has not happened.

So 9 days ago I sent the below email to our new HR director with a copy to leadership staff and I have not had a response to this email from the HR director to whom it was addressed.  Nor have I

Questions Asked--Awaiting Answers: Part II

Legitimate questions regarding policy implementation and policy compliance  deserve timely, complete responses from relevant staff.  Incomplete responses and/or non-answers will only invite more scrutiny and more questions........

I have requested answers to very specific questions about the way our Workplace Harassment Policy was apparently not followed regarding the treatment of an employee of EMS.  Up to this point I have not received complete answers to the seven questions I posed several weeks back----which is unfortunate.  

Eleven days ago I asked for the rest of the questions I posed (regarding the shoddy treatment of an employee of EMS) to be answered or at a minimum what the plan was for me to receive the complete answers.  Disappointingly--we are eleven days on and I've not yet received an email response to this email, below.

"Janice:

I received the package, and I have read the responses you sent to my questions yesterday afternoon.

Several of these answers are not answers. 

Several say, and I’ll paraphrase, “Go as EMS Admin or Go ask Dr. Edler”

Of course I want complete answers to the questions I have posed, and I assume from the answers you and your staff have provided that you don’t know the answers to the questions where you simply answer by saying “Go ask Dr. Edler.”

Am I to assume that you want me to go to Dr. Edler directly to ask these questions, or are you going to ask her?  Or are you going to have staff ask her?

Please let me know your plan for ensuring I have complete answers to all questions that I have posed.

I’m also requesting that discussion of the BCC Workplace Harassment Policy be placed on the agenda for the next BCC meeting for full and complete discussion with my peers and staff.

R/

Jeff Bergosh

Escambia Board of County Commissioners,

District 1

221 Palafox Place Suite 400

Pensacola, FL 32502

850-595-4910 office

850-377-2209 Voicemail

District1@myescambia.com

www.jeffbergoshblog.blogspot.com

@jeffbergosh"

I did receive confirmation that discussion of the workplace harassment policy will be on the agenda one week from today, which I have requested.  This is good and I look forward to a robust conversation about that......But part two of my email above has not yet been answered.  

I want complete answers to Question 1, Question 2. (c), Questions 5, 6, and 7.

Hopefully I will get a complete answer with complete responses to these questions this week at some point.  

If not, during my Friday teleconference with Janice Gilley and Alison Rogers,  I will ask them again.  If they do not have the complete answer (s)--I'll  inform them that there will be an "add-on" discussion item to our next meeting agenda where I will ask relevant staff, publicly, to answer these remaining questions--and I will request relevant and knowledgeable staff to be present at our evening meeting on Tuesday January 7th to do this.  

Hopefully it won't come to that--as that could be a messy discussion.  

Questions Asked--Awaiting Answers: Part I

Legitimate questions regarding policy implementation  deserve timely, complete responses from relevant staff.  Incomplete responses and/or non-answers will only invite more scrutiny and more questions

I have asked questions about the EMS response times in an attempt to answer the accusation posted on facebook from a fireman who complains of going on medical calls.

The initial answers I received were not complete, so I asked for the rest of the data on Saturday--- and I have not yet received the information.  When I do get it, I will post it here.  Here is my email to Chips Kirschenfeld on Saturday where I requested additional data.

Chips/Tamika

I appreciate this response—but do we not have data through the 27^th—Friday the 27^th—yesterday?  Is that something that can be provided?

Otherwise—it looks like we are not addressing the accusation.

Please advise.

Thanks,

Jeff Bergosh

Escambia Board of County Commissioners,

District 1

221 Palafox Place Suite 400

Pensacola, FL 32502

850-595-4910 office

850-377-2209 Voicemail

District1@myescambia.com

www.jeffbergoshblog.blogspot.com

@jeffbergosh

From: Chips Kirschenfeld
Sent: Friday, December 27, 2019 4:41 PM
To: Jeff Bergosh <JWBERGOSH@myescambia.com>
Cc: Janice P. Gilley <JanicePGilley@myescambia.com>; Tamika L. Williams <tlwilliams@myescambia.com>; John Dosh <JSDOSH@co.escambia.fl.us>
Subject: FW: Questions

Hi Commissioner,

Please see information below in response to the Facebook post that we discussed this morning.  Tamika and her team did a great job pulling this information together today.  Thanks.

Chips

To which I received the following reply:

"Thank you Commissioner.  Tamika and her team will update the information."

Why the Online Complaints about Escambia EMS Units--from an Employee of Public Safety?!?

To the members of the general public that by chance happened to read the rant against the county administrator and county leadership yesterday--please know that this one opinion from this one person on Facebook is not representative of the hundreds and hundreds of dedicated employees of Escambia County Public Safety

Yesterday morning online there was a facebook complaint from an Escambia County Firefighter about fire engines running medical calls.  The insinuation/implication infused into the post was that the Escambia BCC created this situation and that citizens should "Call" their commissioners!

Of course most understand that we are the legislative, not the executive.  We don't run the departments....Most also understand that during Holiday periods there will be staff that take leave to be with family, go on vacation, etc.  And during the holidays sometimes the numbers of calls will spike.

According to a paramedic with whom I spoke yesterday, we had 16 ALS Ambulances staffed and on the road--one short of our normal number.  The night before we had 6 ALS units on the road.

But this is all nothing new; and often firefighters respond to medical calls--if there are no ambulances available at a given time.

In fact, the majority of calls that come to fire stations are medical calls.....Again something most everybody knows already.  Out here in Beulah it is like 90% of calls are medical calls to station 2.

So it is somewhat peculiar that a paid firefighter would go online and complain about something that happens all the time, in all jurisdictions everywhere.  Very few of the calls to the fire stations, statistically speaking, will be structure fires. Most will be medical calls. This is not just here in Escambia County--but nationwide.

The Bottom Line:  If you call 911 in Escambia County and you have a medical issue--help will be dispatched, help will be coming in short order.  It will be well-trained, dedicated employees on vehicles with lights and sirens....help is coming and folks need to know this.

Nevertheless, some want to make political hay of this during the holidays (and during union negotiation periods) which is disappointing but not surprising.

I don't think the opinion of this one fireman is the opinion of most of the dedicated, hard-working