Fellow members,

I just left the meeting for the city manager’s proposed budget. It is worse than I predicted. We are losing more than are range adjustment of 1.5%. The following is an overview of the reduction of our pay and benefits:

Elimination of our 1.5% range adjustment

A reduction of 1% in our merit pay

An increase of 7% of our heath insurance premiums

An increase of $150 of our health insurance deductibles

An increase of $500 of co-insurance maximums

With these figures most of us will see a pay check with less money next year while the city manager will see an increase of 5% in his salary or an additional $10,000. I am truly outraged that while the backbone of our city, the employees will see a reduction in pay next year our city manager is receiving a substantial raise. We must show city council that one man does not make this city great it is the police officers, the firefighters, and all city employees who work hard everyday in providing exceptional services to the citizens. Our vice president, Eric DeSimone, the president of the Firefighters union, Keith Wilder and I plan to meet with the mayor and every city council member in the coming weeks to voice our opposition to the loss of our range adjustment. WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT ON JUNE 2, 1900 hrs at CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS.

Thank you,

Rick Armstrong

Fellow members,

First, I want to thank Lisa Mendez and Brent Snowden for attending the union meeting on Saturday. These are two members that truly recognize the importance of action, not just talk. It is unfortunate that as the city manager receives a 5% pay raise and we face the possibility of no range adjustment that we lack the support from the rest of our membership. I am a little disappointed at the low turnout for this meeting. It is extremely important that we prepare for this battle. The budget will be released tomorrow and the public budget hearing is Tuesday June 2 and we need support from our members.

There are council members quoting that they want Mr. Allen’s salary comparable to other city managers in cities our size. When are we going to receive a salary comparable to cities our size? We should all be outraged that while Mr. Allen has saved the city millions of dollars by restructuring our pay scale (we receive much smaller raises) he reaps the benefits in raises that total 57% in the past 8 years.

If our yearly range adjustment is not in the proposed budget I plan to speak along with the president of the Firefighters union, Keith Wilder to support our range adjustment for all city employees. The meeting is at 7 p.m. on June 2. Please email me and let me know if you can make this meeting. Our solidarity is our power and without your support I can assure you we will not receive our raise this year. That equals on average about $700 per officer per year for the rest of your career. This equates to about two hours of your time for $700. Please reply as soon as possible. We need to determine how many bodies we can get in council chambers. There is no doubt in my mind that if we can get 500 cops and firefights into council chambers we will not only get our raise we will get the respect we deserve from city council.

Rick Armstrong