Monday, June 9, 2014

The Sheriff

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The Sheriff says our quality of life will be impacted unless he gets his whopping raise.

Lake Worth is not operating within its means and Palm Beach County is no exception. One of the biggest costs/problems the county has is the sheriff's budget and he says he won't budge. He needs it for raises and benefits and equipment. He knows how to protect those under him.

Paying for the Sheriff's Office already accounts for more than half of the county's operating expenses and he wants $32 mil more.  The County is expecting $40 mil more in revenues due to the increased value of property and he wants over 75% of it. Bradshaw wrote in his budget proposal, "Without adequate funding, this year might be the transition year wherein the quality of life in the county is noticeably impacted." Also, the County in recent years has used reserves to compensate for spending more than it makes, which leaves fewer funding alternatives this year.  Read more... at Channel 12.

Ric Bradshaw, a graduate of Lake Worth High School. likes to tell us that crime is down and says that just about every year. Here is a different report. "In 2013, Palm Beach County’s murder rate per 100,000 population was more than 19 times the murder rate in New York City!"

The Sheriff says that he will be running for re-election. "In 2004, He campaigned on the promise to add more deputies, improve community policing, and to make the budget easier to understand. He has added more deputies and grown PBSO from 3,210 employees in 2004 to today's 3,924." In Lake Worth, however, we have fewer boots on the street than we did when we started and costs continually go up as does crime. However, his community relations has been phenonmenal here in Lake Worth and neighborhood associations have their local deputy at every meeting to let us know they are on the job looking out for you.

"In yearly budget battles with the county adminstrator, he has demanded and received an ever larger share of Ad-valorem tax dollars, growing the PBSO budget 77% in eight years, and has been successful in attracting federal and state dollars, including a contract to house federal prisoners in the county jail. His critics fault his lack of budget transparency and resistance to Inspector General oversight." Click here for full history.

Do we feel safer?




12 comments:

Anonymous said...

What is Your solution to this problem?

Weetha Peebull said...

Private Security!
They must be physically fit and able to pass a test. They are peace makers, community oriented and not aggressive. They must carry insurance (if they screw up - they pay not the taxpayer) SO THEY ARE MORE CAREFUL! No Unions (how do you actually fight yourself?) to deal with.

Anonymous said...

Your daily posting of crime in Lake Worth is always the same. Drunks fighting late at night some vandalism, minor stuff. There haven't been any murders recently like our immediate neighbor to the north, so yes I do feel safer, thanks for asking.

Anonymous said...

The county and PBSO are both proposing 3% pay raises, across the board, on top of the 3% pay raise last year. That is the bulk of the increase and I suggest that its not sustainable to provide back to back 3% pay raises for all of PBSO and all of county while most tax-payers continue to struggle.

Lynn Anderson said...

But one side of politics in our city believes that the PBSO deserves everything it asks. They feel safer because we haven't had too many murders.. Someone just told me so.

Lake Worth violent crimes
MURDER 8

Anonymous said...

I'm beginning to think that some of that stuff on the pbsotalk site is true. Ever read it??

I had 2 terrible experiences with pbso deputies. I'm not a criminal, or suspicious. very horrifying.

Anonymous said...

We should do what Palm Beach does. They have an excellent Police Force. Why can't we have the same thing here?

Anonymous said...

Madam Mayor Triolo, may we please have a detailed report by Captain Silva about what he was doing in Quantico for ten weeks? We the people pay his salary. And yours too , Madam Mayor. Please put this issue on the next agenda.

Anonymous said...

Bradshaw could save a butt-load of money if he stopped the take home car scam. I was up in Fort Pierce and I saw a PBSO car at the Publix I was at up there.

Anonymous said...

I like Weetha's suggestion to look into private security. It sure couldn't be MORE expensive than PBSO. And since we pay county taxes, if something major happened, the PBSO would have to come here anyway. As it stands, all we have is a couple of clean up crew members with badges that MIGHT EVENTUALLY come out on a call after the fact. Lake Worth is paying real money for a fake police force.

Lynn Anderson said...

3:26--They have little crime. But the PBSO has sold people on an expensive bill of goods.

Anonymous said...

We need to return the merchandise!