MPD Blue

The room was filled with blue at the Midland City Council meeting today.  The police were there in tall numbers to support any proposal for a pay raise.

Officer Raymond Miller made a passionate plea for  a raise saying that staffing was at a crisis point with a shortage of 19 police officers.

A survey had been made of cities with a population range of 50,000 to 350,000 to compare what Midland city employees were earning in comparison with other cities. And the results presented to the Council were revealing.

Both the Fire Department and the Police Department were 8% below average.  And entry level salaries were below average in those departments and in almost all the other categories as well.  City employees will probably get a raise, but the question now is how much?  The City Council plans to study the survey and make a decision so that any raise can be initiated on May 1, 2007.

The Council planned to hold an Executive Session to discuss the complaints against various city employees, including those against City Manager Rick Menchaca.  We will have to rely on our imaginations as to what the complaints against Mr. Menchaca are as the session will be closed to the public.  But you don't have to look to far to find someone in a city administrative position who would complain that Mr. Menchaca likes to micro-manage each department.  Mr. Menchaca has his fans, one of whom addressed the Council today complaining that the policemen should have kept their complaints private rather than calling a media conference.  [See Police officers condemn city manager in the Telegram.]

The heads of the departments got their positions the hard way, by earning them.  And assuming the complaints about the micro-managing are true, one has to question whether Mr. Menchaca's decisions are better than those of all of the department heads.

One thing that has brought this controversy to the attention of the rest of us is the announcement of the retirement of Police Chief John Urby.  The prevailing view is that he has done a terrific job as Chief, and he is very well liked by the citizens of Midland and the rank and file of the MPD.  However, there was speculation that he resigned because he got fed up with having to deal with Mr. Menchaca which was brought to a head in a disagreement over the punishment of a police officer.   [See Chief Urby Explains Why He is Retiring at CBS-7.]  The unidentified police officer's infraction involved the internet circulation of a video shot from a police car camera.  [See the video on Youtube here or here.]

But the Chief is a classy guy, so he certainly wouldn't go public with a reason like that.  [See City manager, chief deny rift cause of retirement.]  Chief Urby has been eligible for retirement for a few years, and he has said in speeches that he could retire at any time.  So we shouldn't be too surprised that he finally decided to do it.  But we also shouldn't be surprised if we later learn that Mr. Urby has landed a plum law enforcement position in another city.

The Policemen's Ball

The Police Department held it annual awards banquet on March 28, 2007.  The event was open to the public for a whopping $3 ticket price.  So it was too hard to pass up, and here are a few highlights.

I'm always impressed with citizen involvement, especially at the volunteer level.  And there were a pair of Citizens on Patrol volunteers who received an award for having logged in 900 patrol hours during 2006 and having helped apprehend car thieves, burglars and beer thieves.  Hey, give THEM a raise!

There were five retirees who were scheduled to receive a Medal of Service.  But only two of them showed up to get their medals.  Frankly, I don't know what to make of that.  Are they burned out so much by the time they reach retirement that they don't want anything else to do with the PD?  Maybe this relates back to the pay issue.

Finally, if you like a good story then here's the payoff for having read this far.  The most dramatic presentation was to a police officer for something that happened in September of 2006 in which he ended up fighting for his life.

It happened early one morning when the officer pulled over a car in a residential neighborhood.  The driver took off running, and the officer chased the guy on foot to a fence.  The guy started climbing the fence, and the officer drew his gun and yelled at him to stop.  The guy turned around and charged the officer.  A fight ensued between a 230 pound guy and a 130 pound police officer.  The guy grabbed  the gun, but the cop held on for dear life.  The gun discharged three times, and the third bullet struck the guy in the head killing him.  For the newspaper account, see Midland man dies in officer-involved shooting in the Telegram.

On March 28 the police officer received a Medal of Valor and a standing ovation.

Comments

[Janie]

Wow. Nice post.

As a citizen, and one who supports the leadership of our fair city, I am confused.

I admire Chief Urby and I think he is a fair and wise man. I hate that he is retiring, but support his decision.

Don't personally know Menchaca, so won't comment there.

Have a lot of interaction with various other city people, so hear the rumors.

All in all, it makes me crazy and it would probably be easier to just not think about it. It's not the best plan of action, i think, for me to opt out that way.

Insofar as to the raises, I think our city employees should receive them - and posthaste. We have enough trouble in this economy keeping good employees - and these guys and gals put their lives on the line every day. Give them the money! We should never be behind in compensation for our public servants. Overall, we are a wealthy city. How can we be proud of our city and her accomplishments if we don't take care of those who serve us?

And if city council was shocked at how far behind we fell in monetary compensation, they aren't keeping up with things. In my opinion, we should never be behind. We should be ahead and leading the pack.

Sucks, that.

Yikes.

[Geo]

Well said, Janie. This is a community unlike any other. And I believe our fire fighters and police officers are top notch. They should be paid above average salaries, not below.