VOTE!

Early voting has already begun and ends on May 25th. You can vote at any early voting location in Collin County, regardless of where you live in the county. Your vote does count and only you can help make a difference. You can take 15 minutes now to vote, or spend the next four years complaining about more benefits and pay being taken away. Make the right choice!

Click the below link for the CCDA candidates endorsement list. The board has thoroughly vetted candidates and these are the ones who we feel have a genuine concern for public safety and those employed by the sheriff’s office.

VOTER GUIDE

Misinformation Campaign Begins Anew, V2012

* The following article was released by Judge Keith Self to his supporters. As usual, his rhetoric is filled with misleading and false statements aimed at portraying county employees as feeding off public taxes. This from someone who is a lifetime public employee who ‘earns’ $132,000 a year as his base salary.

Friends,

The Commissioners Court will soon take up the most important duty in each year – the county budget.  I will be commenting on the process as it unfolds.   You see political philosophy in action during the budget process.

The county budget sets the tone and the direction for the next year – a forward looking document.  Collin County is one of the most dynamic locations in the entire country, and we want to keep it that way.

We should maintain a focus on core functions.  We should not yield to the mantra of making government do “more” simply because we are a dynamic county – that is the surest way to slide into the redistributive habits of locations formerly known as dynamic.

Since a majority of our budget goes for salaries, it is always a major topic.  You may remember that the county conducted a major compensation study last year that showed that Collin County values our employees and compensates them well, compared to “like” employers, public and private. There are four advantages to county employment: 1) comparable salary, 2) great benefits, and 3) almost iron-clad job security; and recently added: 4) routine pay raises for our already retired employees.  The Commissioners Court set some salaries above the guidelines of the comprehensive compensation study last year, even though the study showed that our compensation is right in line with comparable employers.

I wrote recently about the elected official from another large county (not a Commissioners Court member) that I met in the Austin airport. When he understood that I represent Collin County, he remarked that he loved Collin County. When I asked why, he said that all elected officials other than Commissioners Court members love Collin County because we pay so well, while other Commissioners Courts do not appreciate their elected officials using Collin County as their justification for higher pay.

Some may believe that because our national policies and spending have so crushed the private sector that local governments must increase spending on social programs.  However, our job is to accomplish core judicial, law enforcement, and healthcare functions mandated by State law and to create a low-tax, business-friendly environment that leads the private sector to create jobs.

There will be challenges this year, as always.

The union pay scale with guaranteed increases that was suggested last year may be introduced again.  Texas is a right-to-work state and we should continue to base salaries on merit rather than automatic pay increases.

The county paid off our entire unfunded liability in the retirement fund last year, but we already have a new liability this year because of retirement program investment losses.  The seven percent guaranteed return seems unsustainable for the foreseeable future.

Budget season is always interesting and enlightening, and should be transparent.  I’ll keep you posted.

Sincerely,

Keith

**Comment section now open. Please feel free to respond anonymously. Your thoughts are important!!

CCDA Endorses Candidates

The Collin County Deputies Association is pleased to announce its endorsements for the 2012 elections. We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to all of the candidates for becoming active participants in this process and for understanding the importance of the various issues, not only to members of the association, but to all county employees.

We would also like to thank other area police associations, both individually and combined, for their involvement in the vetting process. These associations include McKinney, Frisco, Plano, Allen and other smaller agency representatives. A unified voice for all agencies will help ensure a stronger voice in local issues for employees, and a safer community for the citizens we protect.

Candidates were given the opportunity to submit information concerning their candidacy to the CCDA endorsement committee. Input about these candidates was also received from employees of all affected departments.

Please visit our main site to view the list of endorsed candidates.

Candidate Information Coming Soon

The filing deadline for candidates for the 2012 primaries will be December 15th 2011. Numerous area races will have a direct impact on ALL county employees, including the office of Sheriff, Pct. 3 County Commissioner and various Constables races.

The CCDA will soon be posting candidate bios for most of these candidates, some of who attended our recent candidate forum. Please familiarize yourself with these candidates and participate in our upcoming poll on the secure side of our website at www.ccdatx.com.

Your feedback is important on these races. The CCDA will finalize endorsements on the evening of December 15^th.

October meeting announcement

Generosity Results in Tournament’s Success

The Collin County Deputies Association and it’s members would like to say Thank you to all of the participants of the recent golf tournament benefit on September 9^th.  The benefit, a four man scramble, was planned to assist three members of the Collin County Sheriff’s Office who are currently suffering from serious medical conditions and in need of costly treatments.  The tournament was a huge success due to the overwhelming turnout and generosity of the citizens of this county.

 

As a result of this tournament, we were able to raise over sixteen thousand dollars that will be disbursed to the members to assist in paying for cancer treatments and expanded medical costs.

It takes an enormous amount of preperation to hold a tournament of this size, and without everyone from the golf participants to the sponsors, this event couldn’t have taken place. Due to the huge success of this event, we were all able to make a difference in a time of need. The sponsors, businesses, volunteers, players and citizens for this event were tremendously helpful, and for that, our association and it’s members are extremely grateful..

Vote to Create a Sheriff’s Office Civil Service System Passes

Civil Service Passes 296-35

On 09-20-2011, Collin County Sheriff’s Office employees were given the opportunity to vote on a measure for the creation of a Sheriff’s Office civil service system. The results were 296-‘For’, and 35-‘Against’. The results were taken from only those who voted, not of the total of employees employed by the Sheriff’s Office.

Section 158.032 of the Texas Local Government Code states that a sheriff’s department in a county with a population of more than 500,000 may create a civil service system.

The population numbers are derived from the 2010 census report, which put the population of Collin County at 782341. The number could not be used by Collin County for the civil service vote until September 1 of this year. This vote was open only to employees of the Sheriff’s Office; the general public was not involved.

Today’s vote was held at the Sheriff’s department under the supervision of the Collin County Election’s Office. After totaling the votes, Elections Director Sharon Rowe contacted Judge Keith Self and Sheriff Terry Box with the final results. The results were then posted on the door of the room where voting took place.

There has been no word as to when the civil service system will be implemented. Normally, as with other newly created systems, it goes in to effect at the beginning of the fiscal year. In the case of Collin County, the new fiscal year begins on October 1, 2011.

What does civil service mean to employees? The actual rules adopted by the Collin County civil service commission have not yet been published. However, under state law, the commission shall adopt, publish, and enforce rules regarding:

(1)  the definition of a county employee;

(2)  selection and classification of county employees;

(3)  competitive examinations;

(4)  promotions, seniority, and tenure;

(5)  layoffs and dismissals;

(6)  disciplinary actions;

(7)  grievance procedures;  and

(8)  other matters relating to the selection of county

employees and the procedural and substantive rights, advancement,

benefits, and working conditions of county employees.

The commission will be comprised of three individuals who are appointed by the Sheriff, County Judge and the District Attorney. As soon as we hear, we will inform our members when civil service is scheduled to be implemented and what rules the Collin County Civil Service Commission adopts.

The CCDA would like to thank Dick Brock, Jaclyn Kerbow, David Russell, TMPA, and all of our members who assisted in getting this opportunity to vote in front of Sheriff’s Office employees.

Vote Today

Reminder:

The vote to create a Sheriff’s Office civil service system is tomorrow, Tuesday, September 20 between 0600 and 1500 hrs. The location is the detention training room located at the Sheriff’s Office.

The results of the vote will be posted here after the poll is closed at 3:00pm. You can also check online on the county elections website.

The Rest of the Story

*In a recent letter to Collin County residents, Judge Keith Self posted the following concerns (in bold italics). The Collin County Deputies Association objects to Judge Self cherry picking statistics and data, so he can gain support of a certain part of the voting population, and has posted its response.

One of the five fundamental factors in Sun Tzu’s ‘The Art of War’, is that a leader must have the will of the people behind him or he will fail. It states that all warfare is deception and to use timing and momentum. The deception is laid out before you; this issue of salary increases was already voted on and passed, so the timing is suspect. The momentum is the exploitation of the publics’ resistance to big government policies of the Democrat held White House. Collin County employees are not the enemy, and we are not at war.

I will vote against the proposed Fiscal Year 2012 Collin County budget on Monday at the 1:30 PM Commissioners Court session. This is the final vote to approve the budget.

My NO vote will be based on the long-term impacts of the proposed two-tier salary structure and overall salary increases; 2 percent for some employees and 3 percent for others. Voting against a county budget is not a decision that I take lightly. Self also stated “ In the proposed budget that will receive a final vote on September 19, some salaries go up by 3 percent, others by only 2 percent for supposedly equal job responsibilities.” – Keith Self

 

This salary structure is not “two-tier” as Judge Self would have you believe. He fails to include the specifics of this proposal. It is actually a two-category salary structure; one is set up for law enforcement at 3% and the other for non-law enforcement employees at 2%.  This structure is no different than those of other counties and municipalities nation wide. Because there is no private sector comparison for law enforcement, the court, at the direction of Judge Self, directed Human Resources Director Cynthia Jacobson to make a comparison of law enforcement salaries of similar counties in the state.

 

The agencies used for this study were Ft.Bend, Montgomery, Williamson, Denton and Tarrant counties, as well as local municipal agencies Plano, Allen, McKinney, Frisco and Wylie. When the comparisons came in, it was determined that Collin County law enforcement was in the middle of the pay comparisons. It was also shown that the length of time for a deputy sheriff, for example, to reach top ‘step’ at the current rate, would be sixteen (16) years. Each year that passes, law enforcement personnel fall further behind their counterparts in other agencies.

The “equal job responsibilities” is addresses later on in this article.

It’s Morning Again in Texas

On Monday, September 19^th the Collin County Commissioners Court will take a final vote on the 2012 Fiscal Year budget.  One of the looming questions is: “Should Collin County employees receive a pay increase?”  A better way of asking it is: “Why shouldn’t Collin County employees receive a pay increase?”

Our nation has suffered a tremendous economic blow since 2008.  Unemployment is high and business is suffering.  However, what is going on in Texas?

Since 2000, Texas has seen a population increase of over 20%.  Our Governor and presidential candidate Rick Perry boasts that 40% of all jobs created in the United States over the past two years were created in Texas.  The 2011 Culpepper Salary Increase Budget Update Survey reports an average pay increase of 2.9% for private sector employees and a 3.2% pay increase for private sector employees who work for companies with 100 or less employees.  Only 5% of companies participating in the survey report that they plan on freezing employee salaries.  The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that Houston area private sector employees received on the average a 3.7% pay increase in 2011.

There are some municipalities and counties in the surrounding area that have not given employees a pay increase for the past 2 or 3 years.  Those cities and counties are the same ones where tax revenues are consistently less than operating costs it only makes sense to not give employees a raise.  What about cities and counties that are not having financial difficulties?

Tarrant County has been considering a 3% pay increase for their employees.  Victoria County has given their employees a 4% pay increase for the 2012FY.  Even Collin County’s head of human resources has shown municipalities in Collin County that have recently given their employees pay increase.

However, what about the controversy surrounding giving Collin County law enforcement employees up to a 3% pay increase and non-law enforcement employees up to a 2% increase in pay?  First, we say “up to” because Collin County uses a system called “Pay for Performance” in which employees receive up to a maximum percentage increase in pay based on a subjective system of evaluating an employee’s work performance.  So, no employee is guaranteed the maximum pay increase and you’ll be hard pressed to find any employee receiving the maximum due to how the system is designed.  Second, when we say “law enforcement employees” we refer to employees who have no private sector comparison.

The issue was raised that you will be hard pressed to find any law enforcement employees in Texas or in the United States that are on a “Pay for Performance” system and rightfully so.  How do you rate the performance of a police officer or a deputy sheriff?  Do we set illegal quotas for traffic citations?  Do we want every person arrested who is seen walking in the roadway where a sidewalk is provided or for parking on the wrong side of the road?

Most law enforcement employees have a set schedule of pay increases with a pre-determined percentage increase.  However, those increases are not necessarily automatic.  Many are considered “merit increases”.  Public sector employees are hired with the understanding that there is an entry level salary and a “top out” or maximum salary.  Pay step increases are a schedule that raises the employee’s salary from entry level to top out usually in about 5 to 8 years and only if they merit it.  Once an employee “tops out” they are no longer eligible for step raises.

How can the Collin County Commissioners fairly increase law enforcement employees’ salaries on the Pay for Performance system when their counterparts are reaching the top of their salary range in 5 – 8 years?  Three of our County Commissioners felt that the best way to do this was to increase the maximum Pay for Performance salary increase up to 3% instead of up to the 2% non-law enforcement employees.  The question remains: “Is that fair to non-law enforcement employees?”

This is not a question of equal pay for equal responsibilities.  There is no private sector comparison for law enforcement employees, only other than other law enforcement employees.  There is a significantly high risk of life and limb for law enforcement employees.  As a nation we all realized this on September 11^th, 2001 when 37 New York Port Authority Police Officers, 23 New York City Police Officers, and 341 New York City Firefighters gave their lives in the line of duty.

 On Sunday, September 11^th, 2011 we honored their memories and recognized our strength as a nation.  Buildings fell, but America did not.  It is morning, again, in America.  In the aftermath we have seen Texas’ population grow by some 20% and create 40% of all new jobs in America in the past two years.  It is morning, again, in Texas.

“We have so many people who can’t see a fat man standing beside a thin one without coming to the conclusion the fat man got that way by taking advantage of the thin one.” – Ronald Reagan, October 27^th, 1964