The Thin Blue Wallet

No Incentive

For all the B.S. lip-service people give about how jacked-up it is that the most important jobs in our society (police, firefighters, teachers, community columnists, etc) don’t get paid what they’re worth, we all do a crappy job trying to change it. But boy howdy, if the taxes go up the populace is pissed!

In case you didn’t notice when it happened, the “old” city council voted to fund the pension fund at 6% ($353,854) by cutting the incentive pay plan for fire and police personnel in half. According to the Telegraph, who didn’t think this belonged above the fold, Macon Police Chief Mike Burns reports that 16 officers have resigned since July, not counting retirements, each citing pay as a significant reason. The incentive pay plan was put in place to reward extra training and education, and doled out twice a year. And that means that our best trained and education officers have even less reason to stick around the MPD.

If you’re wondering who would do such a thing, former councilman Henry Ficklin proposed the measure, and the following council members voted in favor: Brenda Youmas, James Timley, Anita Ponder, Willette Hill-Chambliss, Charles Jones, Filomena Mullis and Nancy White. Voting against: Rick Hutto, Elaine Lucas, Mike Cranford, Ed DeFore, Alveno Ross, and Miriam Paris. (Cole Thomasson wasn’t present.)

It is mildly interesting to note that five voting in favor are out of office, for various reasons, but everyone voting against it is still in office. That night, two other options were offered. One would have deleted new vehicle purchases in the fire and police departments, providing more money to the pension fund and leaving the incentive pay intact, but that wasn’t legally possible so it couldn’t happen. The other was to increase the tax millage rate to fund the fire and police pension fund. That’s when Ficklin offered his alternative method.

Regardless the options—or the option of seeking other options—we’re now stealing from current officers and firefighters to pay those who’ve retired. Like the hotel deal, which has gotten far more play in the public eye, this is probably something that should’ve been mulled over just a little longer. As it stands, Macon looks to lose its best firefighters and police officers, which means we likely won’t be getting off those “high crime” lists anytime soon.

That New City Council Smell

Warm welcome to Lonnie Miley, Larry Schlesinger, Tom Ellington, Virgil Watkins, Jr., Lauren Benedict, and Erick Erickson. Despite only having to beat someone in your own party (for those who actually had to run against someone), we all go forth with great big, fuzzy feelings about the potential you hold. Seriously. We know (hope) you’re taking this job with the best interests of the city at heart.

Behind Closed Doors

Inside of a week, a few folks did a lot of politicking. In something of a surprise, Miriam Paris was the sole nominee and unanimous winner of the vote to become City Council President. She was followed in the exact same manner by James Timley as President Pro-Tem for the second time, and Ed DeFore as the third member of the Committee on Committees, which is a weirdly named but super powerful committee. Without speculating, suffice it to say that it didn’t take long for the internal shift in power to take place. You don’t get three unanimous decisions, even with three sole nominees, without someone throwing some weight around somewhere. The looks on certain council members’ faces said a lot. That doesn’t mean it was shady, but it does mean something… we’ll just have to wait to see what that is.

Oh Yeah…

We have a new Mayor now. His name is Robert Reichert. Ever heard of him?