Whats Going On With The Scranton Police Force ? (Allentown, Blakely: appointed, crime)

[Retired Law 08]

I was reading in the time tribune yesterday on how many officers are leaving on a cause of cost of living and morale. 32k to start and 40 after a year is not bad for PA, I just retired from nyc, and I don't know anyone who just leaves a law enforcement job. There has to be more to it, do they get a pension ? I can't believe not many people took the last test.I remember
las vegas had a similar problem, and what happens is they recruit in all states
NY right now is having a problem too hiring Police, due to the last contract which took the starting salary down to 25k!!!!!!

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by coartist88

I was reading in the time tribune yesterday on how many officers are leaving on a cause of cost of living and morale. 32k to start and 40 after a year is not bad for PA, I just retired from nyc, and I don't know anyone who just leaves a law enforcement job. There has to be more to it, do they get a pension ? I can't believe not many people took the last test.I remember
las vegas had a similar problem, and what happens is they recruit in all states
NY right now is having a problem too hiring Police, due to the last contract which took the starting salary down to 25k!!!!!!

Scranton is a city mired in bitter politics right now, and the end result has been that the police force has not had a raise for the past six years. As union representatives and city admnistrators bicker, our brave men and women on the force are finding greener pastures in the suburbs. $40,000 isn't bad at all in Scranton, but then again you must also realize that $40,000 in 2001 is much different than $40,000 in 2008. Inflation has continued to outpace the rise in real wages, and the area's cost-of-living has risen while these officers' salaries have remained flat.

Personally I don't think the police officers should get raises. I think that whenever the city has a surplus in the budget, the wage tax should be slashed as much as humanly possible. In this sense not only do the police officers have lower taxes to help offset their flat salaries, but the other 72,000 folks in the city get a break as well. If the surplus went solely to giving the police department a raise, then 0.1% of the city benefits financially while the other 99.9% do not. I'd rather see as many people as possible reaping these sorts of benefits. Furthermore, if the wage tax remains at 3.4% and the surplus is used to give a raise to the police department, this will in no way stimulate the city's tax base. However, if the wage tax was slashed in the future by 0.5%, you'd see more people clamoring to live in the city, since property taxes there aren't high and the quality-of-life, in my opinion, is great for a city of its stature. I've repeatedly spoken to folks who have told me that the one reason they won't move to Scranton is because of the wage tax. If that's reduced, then everyone is better off.

[atownresident]

I know some Scranton police officers and can state that being a police officer is a thankless occupation. Many times cities, townships, boroughs will balance their budgets on the backs of the emergency service workers ie. police, fire, ems. To not give police officers raises but a flat salary would further devalue the service that these fine men and women give to the community day in and day out. They deserve every cent that they get if not more. A new hire who would get $40,000 this year and would stay for twenty years would get what 50% of their salary when they retire bringing the grand total to $20,000 per year. That is not a livable salary.
I can point to Allentown and state that the police department had a span of retirements numbering in the fifties. This loss of man power and experience not only hurts the department but the community at large. To have a well paid dedicated police force will attract quality recruits who will bend over backwards to provide excellent police service. Nationwide various police departments are having a very difficult time filling positions with quality applicants due to many qualified candidates fighting the war in Iraq or candidates will choose a different job field to enter rather then enter law enforcement.
In Allentown's case city council stuck there nose where it did not belong and held up the contract that was agreed upon by the City Administration and the FOP. Rather then having only eight officers that were eligible for retirement the window stayed open and more officers became eligible for retirement bringing the total officers retiring into the fifties. Public safety is too valuable to let politics play into it. I hope that everything works out well for the Scranton officers.

[TheEmissary]

Originally Posted by atownresident

I know some Scranton police officers and can state that being a police officer is a thankless occupation. Many times cities, townships, boroughs will balance their budgets on the backs of the emergency service workers ie. police, fire, ems. To not give police officers raises but a flat salary would further devalue the service that these fine men and women give to the community day in and day out. They deserve every cent that they get if not more. A new hire who would get $40,000 this year and would stay for twenty years would get what 50% of their salary when they retire bringing the grand total to $20,000 per year. That is not a livable salary.
I can point to Allentown and state that the police department had a span of retirements numbering in the fifties. This loss of man power and experience not only hurts the department but the community at large. To have a well paid dedicated police force will attract quality recruits who will bend over backwards to provide excellent police service. Nationwide various police departments are having a very difficult time filling positions with quality applicants due to many qualified candidates fighting the war in Iraq or candidates will choose a different job field to enter rather then enter law enforcement.
In Allentown's case city council stuck there nose where it did not belong and held up the contract that was agreed upon by the City Administration and the FOP. Rather then having only eight officers that were eligible for retirement the window stayed open and more officers became eligible for retirement bringing the total officers retiring into the fifties. Public safety is too valuable to let politics play into it. I hope that everything works out well for the Scranton officers.

This seems to be the other side of the coin of what happens in NJ. Just recently the Chief of Police in Rutherford (the town has 17,000 inhabitants) retired, his salary was $183,000 and his pension is $121,000. He will get free health care at taxpayers' expense. He was 55 with 34 yrs in. They also owed him for all his unused sick time and vacation time so the town had to scramble to come up with $311,000 to cover it. This partly explains NJ's high taxes. NJ towns never have recruiting problems! LOL!

Some where between these two situations lie a happy median or medium - take your choice. However the politicians will never figure it out!

[weluvpa]

Originally Posted by coartist88

I was reading in the time tribune yesterday on how many officers are leaving on a cause of cost of living and morale. 32k to start and 40 after a year is not bad for PA, I just retired from nyc, and I don't know anyone who just leaves a law enforcement job. There has to be more to it, do they get a pension ? I can't believe not many people took the last test.I remember
las vegas had a similar problem, and what happens is they recruit in all states
NY right now is having a problem too hiring Police, due to the last contract which took the starting salary down to 25k!!!!!!

DO NOT BELEIVE WHAT YOU READ IN THE TIMES, THEY ARE PRO-MAYOR DOHERTY AND THEY ARE ANTI-UNION. THE CITY HAS BEEN IN LITIGATION WITH THE POLICE UNION FOR CLOSE TO 6 YEARS NOW AND THE ARTICLES ARE ALWAYS SLATED TO MAKE THE DEPT OUT TO LOOK GOOD FOR COPS BECAUSE THEN THEY CAN SAY THAT THE UNION HAS NO RIGHT TO *****. THE SALARIES ARE NOT WHAT THEY HAVE PRINTED.

[PECKVILLE]

Let Them Leave And Go To Nyc And See How Tough It Is Out There .. When Was The Last Time We Had A Really Big Crime Scene..i Guess They Think They Should Get As Much As Nyc... Also I Think The Outlying Areas Like Dc And Blakely Are Redicoulous In What They Pay There Officers..and The Poor Part Time Officers Get Minimum Wage

[FightinPhils]

Originally Posted by PECKVILLE

Let Them Leave And Go To Nyc And See How Tough It Is Out There .. When Was The Last Time We Had A Really Big Crime Scene..i Guess They Think They Should Get As Much As Nyc... Also I Think The Outlying Areas Like Dc And Blakely Are Redicoulous In What They Pay There Officers..and The Poor Part Time Officers Get Minimum Wage

Nobody deserves to work at a job and not get a raise for 6 years. Its not like the cops are making millions here, or even asking for millions....all they want is a stinking cost of living raise. There's something wrong when TV actors and football players get millions, while cops and firefighters make peanuts. Something's wrong with our priorities.

[00mateo21]

in reply to "theemmisary",
i live in the town of rutherford and its rediculous. The town was granted a 500,000 dollar grant for improvements, new equipment, the school board etc and it was used to pay the unused sick time of the retired police chief. Also the head captain who was "asked" (cough forced cough) to retire had 120,000 dollars in unused sick time. Between the two, the cheif and captain, they were paid in a lump sum almost all of the 500,000 dollar grant. In addition the town created a brand new title and position to whom, yup you guessed it, the retired police cheif was appointed. So all in all he was paid 311,000 lump sum, a yearly pension of 121,000, and now has a job with the town making 85,000 a year. Not to mention this position was created within weeks before the old mayor was removed and the new mayor appointed. In addition the 120,000 lump sum to the captain. The 500,000 state grant is basically gone.

[00mateo21]

also a starting officer's salary begins at a little over 50,000, and within 5 years his/her salary jumps to almost 80,000. (In Rutherford)

[TheEmissary]

Originally Posted by 00mateo21

in reply to "theemmisary",
i live in the town of rutherford and its rediculous. The town was granted a 500,000 dollar grant for improvements, new equipment, the school board etc and it was used to pay the unused sick time of the retired police chief. Also the head captain who was "asked" (cough forced cough) to retire had 120,000 dollars in unused sick time. Between the two, the cheif and captain, they were paid in a lump sum almost all of the 500,000 dollar grant. In addition the town created a brand new title and position to whom, yup you guessed it, the retired police cheif was appointed. So all in all he was paid 311,000 lump sum, a yearly pension of 121,000, and now has a job with the town making 85,000 a year. Not to mention this position was created within weeks before the old mayor was removed and the new mayor appointed. In addition the 120,000 lump sum to the captain. The 500,000 state grant is basically gone.

00mateo21 - Aren't you glad your town got that money? I hope the ex-Police Chief can survive in Rutherford with his $121,000 pension and his new job that only pays $85,000. I don't know how the poor guy will survive in NJ on only $206,000! NEPA folks, now do you understand why we flee NJ in droves to just about anywhere? I doubt even SWB could find an example of a Scranton official that legally padded his income to the degree we have in NJ. In addition to the NJ state budget being in the red to the tune of 3 billion, the state "owes" almost $75 billion to the state pension fund. Think taxes will go down in NJ anytime soon!LOL NEPA folks, like NC & SC, the "invasion" for better or worse, of "the NJ people" isn't going to stop anytime soon!