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Old 12-02-2020, 12:00 PM
 
3,808 posts, read 3,138,691 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by robr2 View Post
I'll disagree. The chief of police has a duty to his both his staff and the municipality that hired him. He has to work with a budget, work to improve the department, and be the face of the force.

As an aside, the Methuen police chief isn't the only overpaid person on the force. In 2017, chief and mayor (who approved the chief's pay) negotiated a contract with the Superior Officers Union where the 5 Captain's would be paid $435K a year. The 200% raise was added to the original contract only a day before the city council voted on it and the change was not pointed out to the council.

https://www.eagletribune.com/news/me...dccf4ccc5.html

My understanding is that each rank has to be a certain percentage about the highest paid officer below them. So if the street cops go from $60K to $65K the $90K sergeant goes to $97,500 (50% more than the street cop.) And it goes up the chain.
Point is, If I'm displeased by the performance of chief I can't exactly vote him or her out. They face much more 'political pressure' from their department, police unions, town board, etc. than they do from the voting electorate. If they are politicians, they're rather sheltered from public accountability.

When voting on my town budget the PDs costs were baked into a larger town budget. Even that isn't an option.
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Old 12-02-2020, 12:16 PM
 
23,561 posts, read 18,707,417 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Shrewsburried View Post
When voting on my town budget the PDs costs were baked into a larger town budget. Even that isn't an option.

Then don't vote for the budget. Very simple.
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Old 12-02-2020, 12:29 PM
 
2,279 posts, read 1,341,869 times
Reputation: 1576
Quote:
Originally Posted by massnative71 View Post
(accounting, various finance, some engineering) that pay $100K+ and are probably considerably easier then than being a cop in any local town and less hours put in on average to earn that.
Sure. Being a cop is more difficult than being an engineer.
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Old 12-02-2020, 12:40 PM
 
23,561 posts, read 18,707,417 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lampert View Post
Sure. Being a cop is more difficult than being an engineer.

In some cases. Obviously one's mileage can vary tremendously across both professions (especially "engineering" which covers a very broad realm), and they each come with their own set of challenges.
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Old 12-02-2020, 01:38 PM
 
16,395 posts, read 8,187,139 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by massnative71 View Post
LOL you compare the state police (highest paid cops in the state) to a list of outsourced H1Bs, even then it looks like the H1Bs might have the upper hand (without doing the math) if not comparable. But I was more interested in what both professions were making in other countries, in regards to the claim that the USA was a standout in how well police are compensated vs. software engineers.
+1

What is so special about engineering anymore? The MA area is full of them.
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Old 12-02-2020, 01:44 PM
 
16,395 posts, read 8,187,139 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lampert View Post
Sure. Being a cop is more difficult than being an engineer.
For people it would be. I have known engineers and finance people throughout my career who's jobs were very easy for them. They were smart and well organized, could easily crunch numbers and figure out code.

If being a cop is so easy why don't more people do it? We've already confirmed that the pay is pretty darn good if you're doing overtime...so why aren't there more cops? Why are people choosing careers like janitors, bus drivers, carpenters, construction workers, I could go on.
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Old 12-02-2020, 02:03 PM
 
3,808 posts, read 3,138,691 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by massnative71 View Post
Then don't vote for the budget. Very simple.
We both know, given town politics, that this isn’t a legitimate suggestion. You’ll either end up with perpetual gridlock or very creative scheduling by the town selectman.
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Old 12-02-2020, 02:28 PM
 
9,229 posts, read 9,758,341 times
Reputation: 3316
Quote:
Originally Posted by massnative71 View Post
LOL you compare the state police (highest paid cops in the state) to a list of outsourced H1Bs, even then it looks like the H1Bs might have the upper hand (without doing the math) if not comparable. But I was more interested in what both professions were making in other countries, in regards to the claim that the USA was a standout in how well police are compensated vs. software engineers.
LOL H1B workers reside in the US (in this case, Cambridge MA) and receive prevailing wages, otherwise USCIS won't approve it. No outsourcing involved at all.

Google is one of the best IT companies in the world, and have one of the highest bars for hiring. Google provides one of the highest salaries in this industry too. Most other companies pay less.

Some of my friends work in China as engineers or (low-level) tech managers, and their salary is typically around 50k USD. The average software engineer salary in Chinese big cities is about 185,000 RMB (28k USD)

In China police officers with 10 years experience usually make about 10k USD. The national average salary of police officers in China is 50400 RMB, or about 7,700 USD

Last edited by Bettafish; 12-02-2020 at 02:44 PM..
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Old 12-02-2020, 02:31 PM
 
9,229 posts, read 9,758,341 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by msRB311 View Post
For people it would be. I have known engineers and finance people throughout my career who's jobs were very easy for them. They were smart and well organized, could easily crunch numbers and figure out code.

If being a cop is so easy why don't more people do it? We've already confirmed that the pay is pretty darn good if you're doing overtime...so why aren't there more cops? Why are people choosing careers like janitors, bus drivers, carpenters, construction workers, I could go on.
But an engineer typically needs a BS degree, which requires passing calculus, linear algebra, general physics, and a load of specialized courses.
With the educational system in the US, what percentage of people can possibly handle it even if they try hard?
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Old 12-02-2020, 02:43 PM
 
2,279 posts, read 1,341,869 times
Reputation: 1576
[quote=msRB311;59817780]For people it would be. I have known engineers and finance people throughout my career who's jobs were very easy for them. They were smart and well organized, could easily crunch numbers and figure out code.

This has nothing to do with being easy. If a job require you to be smart it's not easy by definition. The fact that Boston is full of smart people of course doesn't make those jobs easy.

Quote:
Originally Posted by msRB311 View Post
If being a cop is so easy why don't more people do it? We've already confirmed that the pay is pretty darn good if you're doing overtime...so why aren't there more cops? Why are people choosing careers like janitors, bus drivers, carpenters, construction workers, I could go on.
How many open unfulfilled positions are currently available?
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