Second budget approved without police layoffs
Updated: Wednesday, November 7th, 2012 | By Amy Sherman
When Miami-Dade County Commissioners approved the 2012-13 budget in September, it didn't involve the fireworks of the recent past, the Miami Herald reported. One reason was that layoffs were not part of the deal.
Commissioners approved the $5.9 billion budget on Sept. 20, 2012, in an 11-1 vote with Joe Martinez, the county chairman who lost the mayoral race against Gimenez in August, voting against it. (Commissioner Dennis Moss was absent.) The budget did not include any layoffs, although it did cut hundreds of vacant positions.
The budget included funding to recruit new firefighters and hire at least two classes of police officers. County spokeswoman Suzy Trutie told PolitiFact Florida that the number of new firefighters and police officers added depends on attrition.
The budget also did not close any fire stations. That means that Gimenez delivered on his promise to avoid laying off police officers or closing fire stations. Promise Kept.
Budget cuts affect everyone in different way. Some take It better than others. Since the Miami Dade County has seen these budget cuts, many issues have come into play. People are wondering if their law enforcement agents have a good enough incentive to maintain a straight arrow path and not wonder off into the lucrative life of crime. People wonder if the lower coverage of police and 911 dispatchers will affect the response time to a crime or a emergency. People wonder if police resources are being utilized to its full potential. All these things will be answered to calm the residents mind.
Overworked and Underpayed.
Law enforcement pay reduction has been submitted to strutiny over the past 5 years with major reduction in every aspect of its pay. Many benefits including the overnight squad car usage have been cut or a cost has been introduced for this benefit to happen. Police officers have experienced a deep wound to their pockets with these cut backs which inturn leave the county vunderable to inappropriate actions from our police force. When a person sees themselves living outside their means they turn to a life of crime to raise funds to pay for this I.e thefts, drugs , sales of stolen goods. If a police officers sees themselves low on funds and they are not able to make ends meet of their salary. What will they do?
Job Security Job Security is one of the most important aspects to an individual. Working for a governmental agency is a blessing to most due to the job security this institution provides. What happens when you diminish or freeze the hiring process to one of the county biggest employers? This leads to a questionnaire of what will happen tomorrow. Will I still have my job? This causes a reduction in job productivity and when you couple this with a title such as law enforcement agent in a department which is already stretched out and being affected by budget cuts, the quality of work goes down.
Reduction in arrival time.
