Simple File Clerk Says A Mouthful, While Driving Around In County Car!

From The Florida Times-Union
September 17, 2008
Camden County deputies ordered to take 5 days off
By Gordon Jackson, The Times-Union
WOODBINE - The ongoing budget constraints imposed on Camden County Sheriff's Office are now hitting deputies where it hurts - in their paychecks. To meet the October payroll, which has three pay periods, outgoing Sheriff Bill Smith is requiring all employees, including management, to take five days off without pay.
County Commissioner Charlene Sears, who is also a Sheriff's Office employee, said some deputies, jailers, bailiffs, supervisors and other staff are taking one or two days off at a time until they accumulate five days off. The other option, she said, was to fire employees. Sears said she took her five days off without pay last week.
"It's really bad," Sears said. "There's really no relief for us."
At least one person is working on some relief.
A White Oak man is so concerned over the deputies' loss of pay that he has established a special account at a local bank to funnel donations to deputies to help them buy Christmas gifts.
Tripp Casey said he set up the account at Southeastern Bank last week after learning of the forced days off.
"They are already underpaid," Casey said. "They are really concerned. They're not getting anything."
Casey said his goal is to raise $10,000 to donate to deputies so they can afford to buy Christmas gifts. Donations can be made to the Deputy Christmas Fund at any Southeastern Bank location in Camden, Glynn, McIntosh or Nassau counties, Casey said.
Sears said she was happy some people in the community understand and sympathize with the financial struggles with the department.
"It's so wonderful," she said of the account. "It's so hurtful to know we can't pay deputies what they're worth."
The forced days off without pay are the result of the County Commission slashing the department's budget for the second year in a row. After Smith spent more than $9 million two years ago, commissioners voted to cut his budget to $6 million instead of raising taxes.
They criticized Smith for issuing county cars to department employees such as record clerks, mechanics, secretaries, jailers and bailiffs. They were also upset after learning money from the jail budget was used to buy quiche, tiki torches, steaks, Boston butts, cheesecake and ice cream.
The commission voted to dole out the money in monthly increments to ensure the department would not overspend.
Commissioner Steve Berry, a critic of the sheriff, who recently lost his bid for re-election, said the forced days off "sound like a dog and pony show." Problems with the budget should have been addressed two years ago, he said.
"I haven't heard anybody say 'Let's park the cars,'" he said. "They're not going to give up their perks."
But Sears said the department has been doing lots of cutting, including eliminating hot breakfasts for jail inmates, recycling deputies' uniforms instead of buying new ones, withholding pay raises and reducing travel.
"You cannot run on $6 million," she said. "There's no logic in it. They are hurting people at the bottom."
gordon.jackson@jacksonville.com, (912) 729-3672


Reviewing the RED:

How do we know this? Since Nov. the Sheriff has not turned in expense any reports. Charlene, if you want to do more turn your car in. Brantley Counties Sheriff's budget is less than 2 million, Why is ours so much?

They are hurting people at the bottom.

Charlene, Your a simple file clerk, why aren't you hurting? Would you suggest doing away with Bill's NAVY. Selling our boats to amke payroll. Of course not. Because your husband is part of the top brass making much more than the bottom people. I bet they love that a county commissioner calls them bottom people.

More to come...

Support The Sgt. Dan Jenkins Foundation

Click on pic to enlarge image:

Could Comp Time Bankrupt County?

From a Sheriff's Office employee:

If you (sheriff's office employee) or a family member, supported TG then you have already taken your time off or have scheduled to take your time off. If you are loyal to the sheriff, you will either take your time off when you want to or you may not even have to at all. You think I am wrong. Then have someone investigate the time records at the courthouse. Teresa Smith does all of the time for all county employees. When the news broke about everyone taking their time off, I was told that day to take off the next three 12 hours days I was schedule to work. I also have 355 comp hours to take off, and I have been told that I could not take them as there are not enough employees for me to be off. But yet I can be laid off with no problem. You see I voted for Gregory and I am being punished. I did not openly support TG, just in secret voiced my right to vote for who I wanted to. I will lose all of my comp time when TG takes over and I understand that, but why punish me and not let me take time now while Bill is still in office?? I worked the hours and was not paid, so I should get my time off. I am not sorry that TG is coming to run this department and I am looking forward to his new sheriff's office.

TRSP Review: How many others have this much comp time?
You stand to receive about $5,000 for your comp time? And I don't believe you will lose it when Gregory takes over. If you are fired before Jan. 1, they have to by law pay you for your COMP TIME. Just a thought!!!!

Check out this article:

From http://compensation.blr.com/display.cfm/id/152648

The most important part from the link above.

Compensatory (or "comp") time is time off from work in compensation for irregular or occasional overtime work, substituting for overtime/time and a half pay. It is only available to state and local government employers, both exempt and nonexempt, through a 1985 amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The rate of comp time under FLSA must be one and one-half hours granted to the employee for every hour he/she works over forty hours in a single week.
Employees may bank their comp time to a particular cap or maximum, and accrued time is paid at termination.
Problem in the public sector. Employees accruing large amounts of comp time has led to problems for some public employers, because it meant that at an employee's termination the agency had to pay for a significant amount of banked time, and the cost could be very high.
Public employers began to require employees to take the time off in order to reduce banked time, and employees sued, charging the employers with violating the FLSA. The issue finally went to the U.S. Supreme Court, in Christensen v. Harris County, 529 US 576 (2000). In Christensen, deputy sheriffs sued the county for their implementation of a policy requiring employees to use accumulated comp time. The sheriffs alleged that the county's policy violated the FLSA's requirement that there be an agreement between employer and employees as to when the time should be taken.
The Supreme Court said otherwise. Employees may choose whether they want comp time or overtime, said the court-but if they choose comp time, and bank it, employers may mandate when (or by when) the banked time must be used. The FLSA does not bar an employer from specifying when compensatory time must be taken nor does it bar employers from reducing the cost of accrued comp time by "cashing it out" and paying the employees time-and-a-half for it.


Why do you think the Sheriff didn't want to cap COMP TIME?

I have requested those time records!!!

Football Trumps Education...Attendance

Once again we are told that attendance at school is so important that the B.O.E. is going to take Thanksgiving vacation away from our kids. Just another reason to be thankful for our school system, What would we do without them?

But never fear, school is still closed for the football game. I guess the need to learn and be in school is not as important as a high school football game. Is this game a championship game? Does this game have any importance for the playoffs? Will we also close schools for the games in the dome at the end of the year? This game will not be aired on K-Bay, but for a small fee you can ride the bus, I believe it is only $70 per person.

Why the double standard? We close schools for life threatening conditions, and have to make those days up, but a football game closes schools and no need to make those days up. And lets not forget we were told our kids can't miss more than 7 days of schools or they can play football or any other after school activities. But we can miss it for football. What a double standard. How can these people preach about students missing school and then close it for football. Unbelievable.

Remember some parents on these blogs actually said it was bad parenting if your child missed more than 7 days. That would be those parents who have sick children with chronic illnesses and those who Dad's come back from sea. But we know better. Parents with just a little common sense will tell you, that you have no idea what can happen during a school year and things happen as they do. Sometimes kids are sick longer than a day or two.

Here is the press release the school released on making up the missed days.

Notice September 12. Two weeks just is not enough time, many did not even know school was closed on the 12th.


For Immediate Release 8-28-08
On August 21st and August 22nd, 2008, Camden County Schools were closed due to severe weather associated with Tropical Storm Fay. The rigor of our curriculum and high expectations for student success dictate that we allow students to make up these lost days.
Dates considered for make-up and factors influencing dates ultimately chosen include:
September 1, 2008 – Labor Day proved to be too close to the current date to allow parents sufficient time to change travel plans or make other arrangements.
September 12, 2008 – As a result of the short notice, many students, parents and staff members have already made plans for this long weekend. If more time was available to allow families to alter plans, this date would have been viable.
October 8th through October 10th, 2008 – Student holidays/Teacher Professional Enhancement Conference. Contractual agreements with conference facilitators and reliance of some staff on Professional Learning Units (PLU) during this conference made these dates an unrealistic choice. Using these dates would require additional time away from the classroom to recover the PLU credits lost by teachers and require additional costs to break existing contracts. These dates would also require staff to work an additional two days some time later in the year since they are already included as part of the 190 day calendar.
November 11, 2008 – Veterans Day was considered as a possible make-up day but only briefly. Although Veterans Day was not removed from the table altogether as a make-up day option, the consensus was to use this day as a last resort. Hurricane season is still active and there remains the potential for additional school closings. If necessary, this date will be used to make-up additional days.
December 22nd and 23rd – Using these dates from the winter break would cause high school students to miss two additional days of critical instruction because the dates fall after the completion of the End of Course Tests (EOCT).
These factors all influence student learning, school personnel and the community. Weighing each of the factors led the administration to select November 24th and November 25th, 2008, as make-up days for those missed during Tropical Storm Fay.
The decision to convene school on the first two days of the Thanksgiving break was reached with full knowledge that this may present a hardship for some. A decision that met the needs of all 9,700 students and their families was impossible. These dates will be the least disruptive for the largest number of stakeholders.