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As the New
year begins it marks a time of reflection on the year
past, as well as hope for the future.
The year 2011 had been an especially tough year
filled with changes and uncertainty. It started off with
an unbalanced County budget and seems to have ended the
same way, although some of the brighter minds in county
government will undoubtedly say we had a surplus again.
NIFA has set up a permanent address in Mineola and it
looks like they will be here for the next 4 to 5 years,
if not longer. I hope they negotiated an extended lease.
I don’t
like to dwell on the past, especially when it is all
negative. I hope when we look back at 2012 we will see a
year with positive results. At this point in the year we
have at least received our retro salary deferrals on
time(for 2008 & 2009). That is where the positive
ends. The County still has a budget which is out of
balance and NIFA is looming over the County’s shoulder
to see what they will do to solve it. Their seems to be
no plan insight, no possibility of a raise, no
promotions and no incentive offered. On the job we are
faced with a multitude of challenges. Crime is rising
(although some may disagree), the people we serve are
upset and scared and I don’t blame them. Supervisor
positions in all divisions are going unfilled but we are
being given more responsibilities thrown onto our laps,
without the tools to get the job done. Something has to
change. With all this I still hold out hope as I look
forward that the year to come will end more positive
then it started.
I’d like
to welcome and congratulate the new Commissioner, Thomas
V. Dale as well as Assistant Commissioner Robert Hart.
I’d also like to congratulate 1st Deputy
Commissioner Krumpter on his recent promotion as well.
They face a difficult challenge ahead of them and I wish
them well in their mission.
Recently 1st
Deputy Commissioner Krumpter created a Wellness
committee. We first met back in November 2011 and have
continued to meet the beginning of each month. The
Committee’s chair is Deputy Inspector Ken Lack and it
is made up of representatives of all the Unions as well
as EAO, PA and the Chief Surgeons Office. The first
topic of agenda the committee focused on was suicide
prevention/wellness. The Wellness committee has
suggested a classroom presentation on suicide prevention
and signs of suicide. This is being incorporated into
in-service training by the Academy and EAO personnel.
Next the old Poster program will be started again.
Posters warning about suicide will again be put in
Police department buildings. Lastly you will see a new
ad being run in the gold shield listing information
about EAO and their services. The overwhelming volume of
research regarding the rate of PD suicide, divorce and
alcohol abuse shows that they are all serious issues
that must be addressed. It is imperative that we all
learn to recognize the psychological effects our
profession has on us and to develop skills to
effectively deal with these effects. You can call EAO
anytime to reach a counselor and everything will be kept
confidential. (573-5050)
I thank
you for your continued support of the SOA board. We are
working hard on your behalf to bring a resolve to our
issues. Don’t listen to the rumors. Call the office
with any questions you may have. I urge you not to wait
for the frustration to build.
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Firstly,
I’d like to thank everyone who attended the Labor
Rally at the county executive building. This was a very
important show of support by not just our county public
unions but private unions, city unions and statewide
unions as well. This show of unity was delivered to
Mangano’s doorstep and I’m sure he got the message.
We will stand together. We will not be divided. We are
not the problem.
Someone
once said that “Patience is a virtue” In these
trying times, during this “fiscal crisis” our
patience will be tested. The virtue of patience is to
allow oneself to calmly confront the obstacles and to
rationally deal with the problems which we encounter. As
Police Supervisors we are accustomed to addressing
problems and issues head on. We have the training and
the experience to quickly evaluate a situation,
formulate a plan and execute that plan to resolve the
problem presented us in an expeditious manner.
Unfortunately
the current “Budget Crisis” and all the issues
surrounding it will not be resolved as quickly as any of
us would want. This includes the NIFA control period,
the NIFA lawsuit, the illegal, Fiscal Crisis Reform Act,
proposed by Ed Mangano, as well as the continued
insistence by the Republican Party, that taxes not be
raised and that labor bear the burden of balancing the
budget. All of the aforementioned problems will test our
patience because they can not be resolved in short
order. Instead of being able to resolve these issues
solely ourselves we must, now more than ever, rely on
others to help us. We must rely in some instances on our
expert legal counsel to fight our battle in court. We
will need to rely on our labor consultants and public
relations consultants for advice to take the message to
the people. We will also need to reach out to our
friends in politics to “do the right thing” and
support us in rejecting the legislature being proposed
which would hurt labor unions.
I
am asking all our members to continue supporting the SOA
and our labor coalition during this long battle with the
current administration. We are working hard to bring a
resolve to these issues. Call the office with any
questions you may have don’t wait for the frustration
to build and don’t listen to all the rumors. I ask you
to have patience.
The annual SOA golf outing was played on Sept 21st
this year at the Bethpage Blue course. The outing was
once again well attended and everyone seemed to enjoy
themselves. The weather was perfect for a day of golf.
Commissioner Krumpter joined us and I thank him for his
attendance. This outing could have only been a success
with the help of my golf committee, Greg Morley, Brian
Adams, Mike Shea, Brian Sweeney, Robert Bua and Sam
Giambrone. With a special thank you to our Executive
Secretary/Executive Office Manager Caryn Pfeifer who,
without her help, there would not be a golf outing.
I’d also like to thank all our tee-sponsors, raffle
sponsors, beverage sponsors for their continued support
to the SOA. With a special thank you from me and the
entire SOA to a great supporter of the SOA Assistant
Commissioner David Mack.
Prudential has announced that the rate of return
for the Stable Value Fund in our deferred comp. plan
will remain at 3.06% through to the end of the year.
Superior Officers Association
2011
Active Dues Breakdown
S.O.A. Dues………..$1,309.80 annual
P.E.C. Dues…………
340.42 annual
Cope/Media Fund … 78.00 annual
Total Dues ……… $1,728.22 annual
*Consult with your tax advisor for
allowable tax deductions
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