Mayor Rawlings, Cats & Dogs, and "Conceptual" Things

Things I will never understand:

*Item #1…Why Mayor Mike "BB" Rawlings can initially claim the pension fix brokered by State Rep. Dan Flynn was a taxpayer "bailout" and going to raise taxes, but now, this senate "Conceptual plan," is no longer a "bailout."

Perhaps that's because it never was a taxpayer bailout to begin with. Raising taxes was never, ever in Flynn's plan. Trust me, I read all 188 pages. It just made the city take responsibility for its legal and moral obligations to fund the pension.

At the mayor's press conference, one reporter went astray and asked the mayor about that very point. Why, the reporter asked, isn't this amended plan a taxpayer bailout? Rawlings did what he does best--a bit of a sidewinder shuffle: 

"The nature of this bill creates a system where we're not locked in for the set amount for eternity and the last bill did that, and that's why I called it that," Rawlings said.

Hmmmm, interesting how for months Rawlings screamed "taxpayer bailout." He painted a cat a dog, but no one questioned it. Then suddenly, someone pulled the cat's tail,  the cat meowed, and now the cat is no longer a dog, but a cat. Go figure.

*Item #2…Why all the stakeholders at Senator West and Senator Huffines marathon meeting apparently agreed not to comment on the details of the "nonbonding conceptual" agreement until the senate amendments to the pension bill were drafted. 

And then, the senators immediately held a press conference.

Not to be outdone, Mayor Rawlings squeaked in his press conference waving around the non-binding agreement paper in his hand and talking about how from the beginning he always said "to fix this plan everybody has got to come to the table."

Well, last time I checked, Mr. Mayor, the police never left the table. Nor the firefighters. Nor Chairman Flynn. Nor the pension folks. But where were you? Oh, that's right, you were blowin' and goin' about taxpayer bailouts and pistol whippings.

Interestingly, police and fire groups honored the agreement to remain quiet because, well, a promise is a promise, and first responders take those things rather seriously. That is until the senators and Rawlings blasted the info across the evening news, startling all the active and retired members of the those groups.  

This leaves me wondering about what the end game is for that. Is it so that it will be more difficult for police and firefighters to back out or re-negotiate when the actual amendment from the senators proves to be a different thing entirely?  You know, when that cat becomes a dog again? 

We shall have to wait and see what the senators come up with and how it fits with Rep. Flynn's pension bill. Flynn said he remains "committed to continue to support the 10,000 Police and Fire members and their families first and will not allow them to be bullied by the City."

*Item #3… I will never understand why Mayor Rawlings tries to pretend to care. He's painted first responders as greedy and self-serving among other things. At the press conference, a reporter asked him about the animosity between him and first responders. He did that sidewinder shuffle again, but I found this tidbit rather enlightening:

"We've had a lot of frank conversations. The retirees," Rawlings said about the negotiations. "There were tears in that room. There was emotion going on, and at times there were almost my tears."

Almost. 

You know like a cat is almost a dog.

#savethepension #peoplebeforeprojects #RawlingsDoesntCare 

SOUND THE ALARM: Is your safety worth $1.50 a month?

Take off the gloves. It’s a no-holds-barred 7-alarm disaster. The mayor is at it again, trotting out his repertoire of false information and lies.

It’s a Signal 1-7 all call for the truth, and retired Assistant Fire Chief Debbie Carlin has answered the alarm to put out the mayor’s lies.

It comes down to this: a mere $18 a year.

That’s $1.50 a month--less than a tall Starbucks latte.

$18 a year.  A buck fifty a month. That’s what it would cost each person if every Dallas resident chipped in each year to ensure the pension plan is strong enough to keep our fire and police on the streets. 

Aren’t our active and retired first responders worth that much? Isn’t public safety worth $1.50 a month?

“The Dallas's Mayor either cannot add—or he is a liar,” Carlin said. “In his letter to the public, the mayor claimed the city would be out $1.35 billion over the next 30 years to save the police and fire pension. Those numbers are not accurate.”

Here is the real breakdown of additional costs as stated in HB 3158:

City of Dallas: $626 million (11% increase)

Active police and fire officers: $1.2 billion (91% increase) plus another $1.4 billion in reduced benefits by age 80 for a total increase of $2.6 billion.

Retired first responders: Reduced cost of living adjustment going forward (and, of course, the Mayor still wants to steal back $700 million in benefits already earned). 

Of these three groups--taxpayers, active members and retires--the City's burden is considerably lower than everyone else’s burden. Plus, the city's burden is spread over more than 1 million people while the remainder rests solely on the backs of 10,000 active and retired first responders.

“The Mayor is engaging in ‘fake math,” said Sam Friar of theDallas Police and Fire Pension board. “The Mayor’s words and actions are consistent with our belief that he is willing — and possibly attempting — to kill HB 3158 and the current pension plan in order to start a new one.”

Carlin and Friar aren’t the only one to sound the alarm about the mayor. In a guest commentary in The Dallas Morning News, state representative Jason Villalba notes that HB 3158 is not a taxpayer bailout as Mayor Rawlings erroneously claims. Rep. Villalba also notes that the entire Dallas delegation to the Texas legislature supports HB 3158. 

Immediately after Rawlings’ letter of lies, Dallas City Councilman Scott Griggs publically chastised the Mayor.

“I am AGAINST this letter,” Councilman Griggs posted on Facebook. “I fear that this letter is part of an organized effort to ‘kill the bill.’ Attempting to kill the bill is shameful.”

Shameful indeed.

In an April 21 press release, State Pension Chair Dan Flynn who authored the pension bill said he was “deeply disappointed in the Dallas Mayor making allegations and spreading incorrect information that won't hold up under scrutiny.”

According to Flynn, the mayor’s “own staff gave him incorrect information based upon unsubstantiated assumptions” that  “he touted as true.”

Flynn also said the Mayor’s bullying, name calling and refusal to negotiate in good faith “lends a lot of credence to the opinion of many that the Mayor just wants to take over the Plan and drastically attack benefits by collapsing the plan. Well that’s not going to happen.”

“The city can't recruit because they have a preference for parks over police and firemen, suggesting to everyone those officers rate below dirt and grass,” Flynn said. “The current legislation raises no taxes and requires no bonds, and I have no idea why the Mayor thinks it is so.”

“I suggest he stops wasting taxpayer dollars on expensive PR firms, lobbyists and lawyers, quit claiming bankruptcy is the answer and starts taking public safety seriously,” Flynn said.

Retired Assistant Fire Chief Carlin confirms that police and fire officers are leaving in record numbers “because they can make more money and have a lower work load just about anywhere else. And City Hall is showing them how much they really don't care.”

It’s time, she said, for taxpayers and city council members to “stand up and tell the Mayor to sit down and shut up. Tell the Mayor you think Fire and Police are worth another $18 a year.”

#backthepension #peoplebeforeprojects #morethandirt #sitdown&shutup

Sound The Alarm

After my guest column ran in the Dallas Morning News, I was surprised when I checked my inbox and found several emails from readers. Some were supportive, some were informative and some were, well, mean.

I understand opinions.

I understand dissention.

I understand a free exchange of ideas.

I do not understand mean.

Just like I don’t understand how we got to the point where the top priority for city leaders is not public safety but rather improving Dallas’ sliding negative credit and pushing the mayor’s transformational projects.

I do not understand why the city of Dallas refuses to pursue any revenue stream that will shore up the Dallas Police and Fire Pension Fund. Raise taxes? No. Allocate DART funds? No. Secure Pension Bonds? No.  Divert money from the mayor’s multi-million dollar transformational projects? No.

These naysayers and pension mess has started to take a toll on public safety.

Earlier this month, the fire department administered an entrance exam for prospective firefighters and paramedics.  Usually more than 1,000 candidates show up for testing. This time only 398 people took the test.

According to the city and news reports, 201 police officers have left since October 1, and that number is expected to double before the fiscal year is out. That will be the most officers to leave in decades, and the first time in nine years that the police force has dropped below 3,100 officers. In 2011, there were 3,690.

Meanwhile, the number of citizens and calls for help continue to grow. Officers have reported holding low priority calls for seven hours because the police department is short staffed, and the understaffed emergency call center with its recent technology and staffing snafus has placed hundreds of emergency callers on hold.

I do not understand why any of this is OK.

First responders are leaving and the no one is coming because of this mess. Why would you work for a city that doesn't pay a fair wage, breaks all their promises, and threatens your retirement? 

This is a 5-alarm public safety crisis.

What good are all the parks, the businesses, the bridges, or the neighborhoods if you do not have your first responders there to ensure your safety so you can walk through your parks, drive across those bridges and live in your neighborhoods? 

Why would the city of Dallas continue down this path leaving us to wonder just how many police and firefighters will be left to answer the call? 

I will never understand why we even have to ask that question.

#backthepension #PoundOfFlesh #savethepension

Thank Your First Responders By Backing The Pension

In her 33 years as a Dallas police officer, Crista served in many positions--on patrol, in Internal Affairs and Narcotics. She worked undercover as a high school student to help get drugs out of Dallas schools.

When her husband retired, they selected his pension and survivors benefits based upon her pension benefits and DROP account. All that is threatened now as Mayor Mike Rawlings and the city of Dallas attempt to seize DROP money and take back money already earned by retirees by garnishing their pension checks.

All that is further threatened by State Representative Dan Flynn who has sponsored HB 3151 that attempts to save the pension fund solely on the backs of its first responders by including the clawback provision, increasing the retirement age, eliminating cost of living adjustments and politicizing the make up of the pension board to one where the city gains control by allowing the mayor to appoint three additional members.

"The City of Dallas has benefited from our years of dedicated service and the DROP program," Crista said. "They immediately were able to keep senior officers, they were able to pay officers a 20 year pension versus a 30 year pension benefit. Yet, they are now threatening to abandon our pension. The City of Dallas and Mayor Mike Rawlings are bullies. They will use any and all forms of coercion to accomplish their goal of destroying the Dallas Police and Firefighters Pension Fund."

"My pension, DROP, and the annual adjustment is not a 'pie in the sky Ponzi scheme' crafted by 'greedy officers' intent on defrauding the citizens of Dallas, as Mayor Mike Rawlings has stated," she said. 

As a "greedy retiree," Crista volunteers more than 400 hours each year as a Reserve Police Officer, saving the City over $20,000 annually in wages and benefits for an on duty officer. She also assisted in the formation of the nonprofit Dallas Police Youth Foundation and has raised money for the operating expenses for the Dallas Police Department Youth Outreach Unit. 

"Many retirees perform similar activities" she said. "We don't serve the community because we are greedy. We serve in this manner because we have servant hearts and have earned our pension which we use to continue to give back to our community. Now is the time to thank your police officers and fire fighters by saving their pension."

#backthepension, #savethepension, #PoundOfFlesh

Elected Officials Created Problems, Not Solutions

Words and actions by Dallas elected officials in late 2016 helped create a $500 million run on the Dallas Police & Fire Pension System.

#BackThePension, #PoundOfFlesh, #SaveThePension

It's A Sense of Sheer Abandonment

In the weeks following the tragic officer shootings on July 7, 2016, the Dallas community offered strong support for its first responders. But the tone from City Hall changed quickly. Dallas first responders contrast the support they received from Dallas citizens compared to the city’s administration.

#BackThePension, #PoundOfFlesh, #SaveThePension

Now Where Are Those Chicken Feathers?

This really is a must read by Dallas Observer Columnist Jim Schutze. It shows what a travesty this pension bill crafted by State Representative Flynn really is by keeping in the clawback and the subterfuge created by Mayor Rawlings and his lobbying minions.

When calling out the city for its spending in other areas, Schutze writes: "How do you think that election would have gone? I would predict a vote of zero percent for the starchitect, 100 percent for the cops and firefighters plus dipping the mayor and City Council in tar, covering them with chicken feathers, placing them on a rail and carrying them out of town with much whiskey drinking."

Please share with your friends. Meanwhile, I'm going to go and find some chicken feathers…

#PoundOfFlesh #savethepension #backthepension