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.

Cost of Living Adjustments--Or Pay Raises?

There is a raging debate online about what terminology should be used to describe 7 consecutive years of 3% pay increases for the county's employees.  Some are OUTRAGED that I used the term pay increase, and instead insist these pay increases were nothing more than "Cost of Living Increases"  NOT PAY RAISES!!  (I disagree).  

Last week I published the MOU's signed with several of the county's bargaining groups.  These MOU's allowed these groups to continue to bargain over other employment issues, while simultaneously allowing their members to begin receiving their 3% pay increases immediately.  I really thought this was great news--as the alternative would have been no raises until the conclusion of bargaining.  Which could have taken a long time.

So I was somewhat shocked at the vitriolic comments that came as a result of this post.

The comments went from  (paraphrased) "ho-hum whatever this is what we get every year-this is our COLA (cost of living increase)" to "THIS IS NOTHING, THIS ISN'T EVEN A RAISE"
to even worse than this. One poster on another facebook site stated "Is that like what, a dollar?" others incorrectly stated that the commissioners "were getting 3% pay increases too!" (Which of course is not true)

Commissioner pay is set by the state's office of economic and demographic research.  This entity sets the salaries for elected officials, county officials, and school board officials statewide.  You can read their report for this year here (page 10 has the table of all elected officials' salaries statewide).  And for the record, Escambia Commissioners received a .74% increase over last year--four times less than what we are giving our employees, percentage wise, as a pay increase for the same year-over year time frame.  This small of an increase for the BCC, ironically, is much more in line with what a COLA increase looks like.....not 7 straight years of 3% increases which is NOT what COLA increases look like in real life...One way to benchmark a true COLA increase is to look at the average Social Security COLA increase over the last 12 years, which is 1.8% (three years of  0% increase mixed in).  Military pay increases for the period from 2013-2019 were even less-they averaged just 1.7% per year over that time frame.

So bringing it back to Escambia County------I just don't understand the vitriol and anger and backlash dished up by some over our giving our 7th consecutive year of 3% pay increases to employees--as if this is somehow massively deficient and cheap on our part.   Many in the private sector would KILL to string together seven straight years of 3% pay raises!

So no,  I don't understand how folks turn  a pay increase given in good faith into an attack on their employer, the county.......

I have to believe those that are attacking and making comments are in the extreme minority.

I truly believe the average employee and the silent majority of employees appreciate the pay increases this board has put forward over the last several years since the great recession.

Fire, Corrections, and EMT Employee Unions sign MOU's Allowing for 3% Pay Increases to Flow

First Responders and Corrections employees are receiving 3% raises effective immediately now that MOU's have been signed..... 

....And with these raises----it makes 8 of the last 9 years (according to the information I have)--- that these corrections and first responder employees have been given 3% increases by the Escambia Board of County Commissioners, similar to what we have funded for Sheriff's Deputies over the same period of time....

Now, the county and these unions are still bargaining over other issues, but these MOU's allow the employees to get the raises right away without any hold ups or slow downs as the bargaining continues. 

I know that our county values, respects, and supports our first responders and corrections employees--and I am especially grateful for what they do in our community.  They definitely do deserve these pay increases (over 20% over the last 7 years) that the county has provided!  See the MOU's below.