Letter to the editor
Dear Editor,
Mayor Brown's insistence that Oakland police officers' pay start at $50,000 and jump to $90,000 within 5 years to me is the cruel hoax perpetuated on Oaklanders.
After doing some quick internent research which Oakland had to comission $100,000 consultants for, I discovered nowhere in the country are police officers as highly paid. Nor does their pay scale increase with the same rapidity. In most places it takes 20-30 years to make good pay. New York's city's police force starts at $3l,000- $34,000. But Brown insisted we needed to do this to bring down our now ever-increasing number of police lawsuits. I think Jerry did it to create a state-wide voting bloc of law enforcement officials to help him in his bid for the state's next attorney general.
Oakland city officials, ever generous with salaries and benefits to city employees and managers, have always been stingy with services to tax-paying residents. Voters must carefully scrutinize both the motivations and priorities of a Mayor and city council with the redevelopment aspirations of major league players and the pocketbook of minor league ones. Think carefully before you decide whether to vote yes for strong Mayor Measure X in March. Brown didn't throw his weight behind his first police initiative to fund 100 policr officers; I doubt he will do it now with a new police measure which could fund 42 critically needed officer positions and is more in keeping with the original intent of community policing.
Val Eisman
That must have been some VERY quick Internet research. Entry-level cops in Walnut Creek make $60,000 to start. And how could any cop afford to live in N.Y. starting out at $30,000???
Why that would lead to corruption!
George, I guess they must work a lot of OT, or sleep at the Port Authority....
http://www.nypd2.org/html/recruit/faqs.html#benefits
"A probationary police officer will earn $34,514 and will increase to $54,048 after five years of service with additional longevity pay every five years up to 20 years of service. (These salaries do not include overtime, holiday pay, night differential, and uniform allowance). NYPD officers also enjoy many of the following benefits:
* Choice of a various paid medical and dental programs
* 20 paid vacations days to start
* 27 paid vacations days after 5 years
* Unlimited sick leave with full pay
* Optional Retirement at one-half salary after 20 years of service
* Annuity Fund
* Home Ownership Assistance Programs
* Over 70 College and Graduate school scholarships
* Excellent promotional opportunities
* Various work assignments"
Oh and you might want to check this out:
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-sickpay14.html
No further statement, your honor.
Posted by: Larry Fine on December 16, 2003 05:37 PM"... a new police measure which could fund 42 critically needed officer positions...." I don't know where this 42 figure comes from. Both the Trib and Montclarion have reported the number to be 45, however this number is wrong too. The resolution for Measure R doesn't even explicitly mention hiring any additional officers. A high police official recently said, not in public, that Measure R's revenue (the 40% that goes toward the police-enforcement objectives) would fund 20-25 new officers. This is roughly consistent with the $140K per officer-year that was implicit in the earlier failed 100-extra-officers initiative.
Posted by: Jim Ratliff on December 23, 2003 10:14 AMYes, my research was very quick. But what I was trying to do was to compare large cities like SF and Oakland. Not to compare cities like Walnut Creek and Oakland which I don't believe is an appropriate comparison. Walnut Creek is a much more affluent community which doesn't have to provide social services to a city with almost 50,000 who are residents of AFDC families according to a Tribune article in the past year.
I did look at east Palo whose starting pay was comparable; but they are not a large city. I made a quick comparison the largest cities in the nations with comparable problems.
The figure of 42 officers came from a statement Councilwoman Nancy Nadel posted on our north Oakland police website regarding number of officers she was committed to seeing hired if her measure passed.
Val Eisman
Hey Val,
Being a Police Officer I have done a little research myself. Outside of the fact that the Bay Area is one of the most (if not the most) expensive places in the country to live, this is what I have learned. We live an average of 15 years less than you.. despite the fact that almost every cop I know is terrified to eat a doughnut after 30 years of a taunting, that lets face it, really has no comic value outside of the daring to tease the recess lady. We are three times more likely to commit suicide over depression (is there another reason?)..and although I don't know the national average on divorce rate... we are damn near guaranteed in the high 90's percentile (Iam 30 and haven’t done it yet).
I have watched two of my friends die of gunshot wounds on cold pavement. And at the risk of sounding overly dramatic (too late), I had to scrape the blood of the second one out from under my fingernails before I came back to work the next day.
I myself have been shot at twice (that will wake ya up in the morning !), both of which were unprovoked "sniper" type attacks... allegedly as the initiation into a gang. I have seen countless people take their last breath.. from infants to elders. I have been labeled a racist, a "Zionist" (what the hell is that anyway???? Nevermind.. don't want to know). I have had lies told about me in open court. I have had the media put such a twist on a story about me that you wouldn't believe that we were speaking about the same incident (what the hell, it sells papers!!)
Don't get me wrong. I love my job and will smile quietly on my death bed (15 years before you) because I did what I felt was right. I lived my life in a way that would make my ancestors proud.
But I digress. You gave me a great idea Val... Do you know if Walnut Creek is hiring ???????
Posted by: Mark Battle on December 28, 2003 10:22 PMOffice Battle,
Going from $50,000 to $90,000 in FIVE YEARS is more than Oakland can afford (and probably L.A.)and any other city too. And pensions 100% full pay after l5 years?!! I'm sorry, it's simply more than we can afford.
Did you see Peter Schrag (Sacramento Bee columnist article) journalist article in Trib a few days on this same issue? He said Arnold bailed out L.A. Mayors and Oakland mayors who gave raises and pensions they couldn't afford primarily to police and fire employees. In Oakland, they salaries and pensions we cannot afford to EVERYONE! Our city council doesn't work for the citizens here and never has. It is no secret that in OAKLAND THE CITY COUNCIL WORKS FOR THE UNIONS and people who don't live in our city, spend their money in our city, but CLEAN UP FROM OUR TAXES.
I could say, if you don't love us, leave us, but that would be stupid. Who wants to lose talented experienced officers? All I'm saying is that it's too much.
I'D be the stupidest person in Oakland if I argued about the dangers of your job or it being the most dangerous (although when longshoremen get injured it usually spells death too. At least one longshoreman a year dies on the waterfront and last year there were at least 5 deaths due to speedup of SSA, yeah that scab outfit down at the port.) But, I'll be nice and not say more. I promised somebody I'd behave so please don't goad me further.
In an ideal world you guys would be paid $l50,000 and attorneys $50,000. But, we ain't livin in an ideal world. We do nneed money for libraries, schools, fire parks, etc. Jerry doesn't think so, but if you read my other posting, Jerry has been wanting to leave town the second he got elected.
First, he drank with the black folk on 7th St.; now he drinks with cops. I support Jerry for Attorney General. I want him to leave town and go drink with Peter Schrag.
Val Eisman
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