The Mayor Wants Confrontation, Not Cooperation

Editor's note: While there appears to be a step by the pension board and State Pension Committee Chairman Dan Flynn to try and come up with a workable solution to this pension mess, it's not time to sit around, hold hands and sing Kumbaya--at least not yet. We all know that the city of Dallas is quick to promise, but rarely delivers. So here is another story about a first responder that Mayor Rawlings and the city of Dallas want you to believe is greedy, self-serving and overpaid.

In the 34 years Tom worked for the Dallas Police Department, he said 36 officers were killed in the line of duty, countless were injured and some were paralyzed.

Before the creation of the city’s DROP retirement program, virtually all officers left at age 50 because they had maxed out their pension, Tom said.

“When it came time, I went into DROP at age 48 and took a reduced pension to do that. I didn't invent DROP, I didn't steal anything, I am not a thief,” he said. “I only did what the city and department wanted—for me to stay longer.”

DROP worked well for the city, he said.  It kept hundreds of officers past what would have been the normal age to retire.

“In my case, I stayed until age 56.  The city got at least six more years of service and a reduced pension amount because of DROP,” he said.

Now, Mayor Mike Rawlings and the city want to seize retiree’s pension accounts and garnish their pension checks for money already earned.

“The city and the Mayor want confrontation, not cooperation,” Tom said. “The problem is the city doesn’t want to do its part.  Had the Mayor said some time ago, ‘The police officers and firefighters of this city have always taken care of us, we will take care of them’ much of this situation could have been avoided. The Mayor wanted a crisis and spoke of bankruptcy to create it.”

“I believe that my benefits are protected by a State Constitutional agreement and by common sense,” he said. “I want to help fix the crisis. I want to be part of the solution. The city has never been concerned about the pension until it got to this point. The city needs to step up.”

#PoundOfFlesh, #savethepension, #backtheblue

I Know What Stress Is Now

Editor's note: Here is another first responder that Mayor Rawlings and the city of Dallas want you to believe is greedy, self-serving and overpaid.

Two years into his career as a Dallas police officer, Mike woke up in the back of an ambulance fighting paramedics after having a nocturnal seizure.

The emergency room doctor asked him if he was under a lot of stress.

Not really, Mike told the doctor who responded, “Your wife told me you just got back from out of state burying one of your partners who shot himself. She said you are working all of your extra job shifts and working on covering his also. She told me she’s pregnant with your third child and she needs some tests due to an abnormal sonogram.”

Then there was that call he had answered earlier in that evening when he drove up to a house engulfed in flames and desperately struggled to break through the burglar bars.

“Smoke was pouring from the house and I choked on it trying to gain entry because I had heard someone scream at one point from the inside of the burning house,” he said. “When I was throwing up in the yard after the firemen arrived, I didn’t know if it was from the smoke I had inhaled, the fact that they were pulling a dead family from the home or a combination of both.”

The emergency room doctor asked Mike if he even knew what stress was.

“I thought what a stupid question.,” Mike said. “I knew stress. I saw people in stress every day. People call 911 when they’re in stress.  We show up. We fix stress.”

Because of his seizures, Mike was put on limited duty in dispatch for a year a half. That assignment meant no extra jobs to help pay the bills. 

“I didn't always feel that I was treated fairly by the city,” he said, “but I believed everyone has doubts about their employer at some point in that amount of time.    I encouraged my three sons to do public service and two are firemen.  I always told them you won't get rich, but you will help people and you get a pension when you retire.”    

Within a year of his retirement, the city of Dallas and Mayor Mike Rawlings is trying to change the laws so that they can confiscate his promised pension.

“I now worry that I won't get what I was promised,” he said. “I know my job possibilities will be limited by my age and the epilepsy.    I worry more for my sons if we live in a society where they might work their whole life, plan and save, then retire, and after all that, get the deal changed.”

“I hope I didn't mislead them,” Mike said.  “One thing though: I do know what stress is now.”

#PoundOfFlesh #savethepension #backtheblue #DPFP

To The Citizens Of Dallas

Here's a letter to the editor written by retired Dallas police officer Mia Sullivan. It's a letter you won't see in the Dallas Morning News and it's a story that the bogus Taxpayers For A Fair Pension group doesn't want you to see.  

Dear Citizens of Dallas,

I know it is really confusing to read all the hoopla surrounding the Police and Fire Pension issue. What is really going on? How did this come about? Whose side are we to believe? After all, you pay taxes, you did all you were asked to do, right?

I’m speaking for myself here, but there are thousands of police officers and firefighters n the same situation I am: I too pay my taxes, I too did all I was asked to do. Our pension is like your Social Security. We pay in with the promise and commitment to have a payout when we retire. We are not eligible for Social Security from our employment with the city. The mayor’s appointees were tasked with overseeing the pension fund along with the other pension representatives. Our old Pension Board, no longer in place at this time, made some risky investments which did not pan out. The mayors’ appointees shirked their responsibility as overseers. Over the years, they showed to be ABSENT 94% of the time at the pension board meetings.

I swore to uphold the law, protect the citizens of Dallas, be part of the thin blue line that acts as a firewall between you, the law abiding citizens and those who intent to do you harm. I know the people who love me said a little prayer every day I went to work, hoping I’d come back in one piece. I missed a lot of family events. Like you, I tried to provide a good home for my family. I wanted to help my children and my grandchildren achieve goals and potentials, frequently working extra jobs to make ends meet.

The city of Dallas told me they would reward me with a retirement, and even offered an investment opportunity to keep me on the job. I listened and did that too. Trust is a wonderful thing, isn’t it?

Well, it appears that the city is not wanting to uphold their side of the bargain. And why should they? I upheld my promise and served for 32 years, but I am retired now, it’s time to forget about their pledge to me and all those who are no longer serving actively. So here is the New Plan: Let’s convince the citizens of Dallas that those retirees really don’t deserve what they have earned. Let’s put it out there that they are greedy and only worried about themselves. Let’s tell the citizens of Dallas that all we really want is to save the officers from themselves and start a new pension for the ones who are still working. And to make it more believable, let’s ask previous city leaders to get behind us (after all, they didn’t do what they promised either, and they wouldn’t dare oppose this move, lest they’d be thought responsible for not doing their duty while at the helm…)

Well, like I said, trust is a wonderful thing. I saw and felt your response last summer when we grieved our fellow officers. I saw your heartfelt care and concern. You KNOW that we, unlike politicians with agendas and political ambitions, are here with you for the duration. We are not going anywhere. We are your first responders. I have faith in your ability to see through all the political hay being made. Do this one thing for us: STAND BEHIND US! Make sure the city keeps their end of the bargain. The “Save the Pension” propaganda put out by the city would keep us out in the cold!

--Mia Sullivan

#PoundOfFlesh #savethepension #backtheblue

Will The Real Millionaire Please Stand Up?

Editor's note: Here is another first responder that Mayor Rawlings and the city of Dallas want you to believe is greedy, self-serving and overpaid. And, no Mr. Mayor, unlike you, Ben is not a millionaire.

Ben left the department just shy of serving the city for 31 years and just before he turned 55. 

When he left, he was not a millionaire as Dallas City Mayor and millionaire Mike Rawlings would lead you to believe.

Ben doesn’t live extravagantly. When he retired, he was only in the city’s DROP pension program for four years and nine months. With some planning, Ben and his wife figured they could supplement his basic pension with a $1,500 a month draw from DROP until they could reach her 65th birthday and Medicare. Then, the hefty premium from the city insurance would drop and they could survive on his basic pension and her social security.

Now, the city and Mayor Rawlings wants to confiscate Ben’s DROP money and garnish his pension checks.

“They have forsaken the retired Police and Firefighters who gave much to the city during their careers,” Ben said. “I am not and never will have a million dollars, Mayor Rawlings. Your statements about us begin greedy are false and incorrect.”

Because they have been “led down a path of untruths by the present city administration, council and others in the city,” the citizens of Dallas don’t realize the financial disaster their first responders will face.

“I will lose my home,” Ben said. “I will not be able to pay my bills, and I will not be able to take care of my totally disabled son who cannot take care of himself.”

That leaves Ben with only one question: “Hey Mayor, you want to help take care of us since you are a millionaire?”


#PoundOfFlesh, #savethepension, #backtheblue

Please Don't Count Us Out

Editor's note: Here is another first responder that Mayor Rawlings and the city of Dallas want you to believe is greedy, self-serving and overpaid.

Mona retired in 2003 after just under 24 years of service. Her husband John joined her a few years later after giving 35 years to the Dallas Police Department and its citizens.

In 2004, John was diagnosed with a very rare and incurable genetic brain disease call Spinal Cerebellar Ataxia. Since his retirement, his vision has deteriorated and his walking has declined. He now must use a rolling walker to get around, but in the future, John knows he will need a wheelchair.

They have depended upon their DROP pension account to supplement and pay needed expenses including a recent master bathroom remodel that was necessary to make it more accessible for John.

“We have been counting on this money for future issues with John's health, such as making our vehicle accessible for his mobility issues, purchasing him a scooter, etc.,” Mona said. “In addition, we are counting on this money to take care of my 81-year-old mother who resides in Tennessee, when she is unable to take care of herself.”

“It will be really devastating to our family if this money that we counted on is taken away,” she said.

#PoundOfFlesh #savethepension #backtheblue

City Hall Shoots Another Volley At First Responders

So the four council members on the pension board filed suit yesterday against the remaining pension board members in what amounts to a hostile take-over of the fund so the city can ultimately confiscate retirement accounts and garnish pensions for money already earned and paid by first responders.

Lots of finger pointing in that 41-page lawsuit at just about every body but the council members, former mayors and current mayor.

Never mind that the city created the plan.

Never mind that the city council always had oversight over the plan.

Never mind that the city (according to the lawsuit) doesn’t want to do one thing to  “to sacrifice paved streets, affordable housing, public safety, parks, and other necessities…” Oh, but they supposedly love their first responders and find the need to protect them from themselves.

Never mind that former Mayor Laura Miller’s lawyer/husband filed the lawsuit.

Never mind that the city promised those four council members that they would indemnify them to protect them from lawsuits expected and already filed by first responders who have been unjustly victimized by the city. 

Oh what deep pockets these mayors have!

Over and over again the lawsuit holds the city blameless and claims the court needs to take over the fund to ensure it’s managed property.  And, ultimately, who better than the city of Dallas to do that?

Seriously?

Am I the only one who remembers the city of Dallas couldn't even manage its role as dog catcher?

They had to call the police to step in to save them.

Someone needs to stop this madness.

#PoundOf Flesh #savethepension #backtheblue 

We Were Always There For You

Dwight survived his 27 years as a Dallas police officer despite being run over by a Cadillac, hit by a DART bus and shot at twice.

I’m 67 now, but look 80," he said. "I was proud when I was hired. Back then one out of ten who applied got hired. Even during the bad times, I was proud to be a brother in the best department in the country. I was proud that if the citizens called for help, I knew we would get there quickly and could handle any situation.”

Dwight served in Tactical, Southeast, Northeast and Southwest Divisions, Communication, General Assignments, Internal Affairs, Physical Evidence, Vice and Narcotics. He worked days, evenings and the late night shifts. He retired 16 years ago at the rank of captain.

In addition to his devotion to his law enforcement career, Dwight served as a church elder and Bible class teacher. Now in his retirement, he and his wife of 44 years, Jan, serve as Nana and Papa to  “30 or so kids at church with no grandparents close by.”

When Mayor Mike Rawlings proposed his plan to clawback money from retired first responders by confiscating their money and garnishing their pension checks, Dwight said he was horrified.

“I have been blessed with good health, and if push came to shove, I could go back to work,” he said. “I know people wouldn't be beating down the door to hire a 67 year old, but I am not too proud to do any honorable job. I know that I am the exception.”

“There are many of my generation who are broken down mentally and physically,” Dwight said. “Some are in wheelchairs, some are on walkers, and some don't even recognize their spouse due to Alzheimer’s. What will become of them?”

  

To the citizens, Dwight said he would tell them this: “We were always there for you when you needed us most. Please be there for us now that we need you the most.”

#PoundOfFlesh #savethepension #backtheblue #broken promises

I Never Asked For Anything Special

Here is just one of the first responders whom Mayor Rawlings wants you to believe is greedy, self-serving and overpaid.

Like many other police and firefighters, Richard has spent most of his life in the service of others. He served in the U.S Army with a tour of duty in Viet Nam, and then served as a Dallas police officer for more than 30 years. 

"I never asked for anything special," he said. "I worked 30 years of weekends, deep night patrol, missed almost every major holiday with my family, spent countless trips to the emergency rooms in Dallas for my on duty injuries."

Even though Dallas was ranked 27th in pay compared to surrounding cities, Richard remained to serve the citizens of Dallas.

He never took a "sick day," received more than 175 commendations and excelled in every evaluation. That earned him a promotion to Detective and he retired as Master Police Officer.

"For this," he said, "I  was presented with a retirement plaque which bears my badge and 13 medals and a promise of a pension check and what I saved in the DROP account that the City organized in order to retain senior officers."

Now, Mayor Rawlings and City Hall are threatening to seize his retirement account and garnish his pension check by clawing back the money he's already earned.  

"Now the only thing I have left is that plaque that’s hangs in the study in my home that I will not be able to afford to keep," Richard said. "Not only will I suffer, but my wife of 37 years who stood faithfully by my side as I served the citizens of Dallas will also suffer. Please help the first responders of the city of Dallas and save our pension system."

#PoundOfFlesh #Savethepension #brokenpromises

The Union Boss Lie & Collective Begging

I was listening to the Chris Salcedo show Friday and was appalled by several callers who seemed to be under the mis-impression that the police and fire pension fund was brokered (and broken) by "union bosses" who somehow finagled this deal with their political cronies.

But the truth is, this was a city hall plan from the get-go as a means to retain officers who were leaving in droves in the mid-90s. The pension plan was approved every step of the way before it even made it to the rank and file. Even the IRS had to approve it before it was implemented.

Oh, and just a reminder, there are no "union bosses" for the police and firefighters rank and file. Unions? No.  There are  fraternal associations that were formed to present members' concerns to City Hall. These organizations were also formed to protect the legal rights of their members.

Collective bargaining?

Hardly.

Try collective begging.

That is why Dallas Police and Firefighters have always had to sue the city of Dallas every step of the way in order to make city officials follow the law regarding state constitutionally protected pay and benefits.

That is why it's so important not to trust the city of Dallas or Mayor Rawlings when they trot out their solution for the pension fund. They have never, ever followed the law, much less done what is right.


#PoundOfFlesh #savethepension #backtheblue #broken promises

So Who Do You Trust With Your Life?

Mayor Mike Rawlings and his Taxpayers for a Fair Pension are no friends of Dallas police and firefighters.

Their mission is simple: To fix the Dallas Police and Fire Pension fund on the backs of its first responders without the city shouldering any burden.

Instead of negotiating in good faith with our police and firefighters, Mayor Rawlings has launched a formidable, well-funded attack against these brave first responders calling for the legislature to authorize a new pension system, a clawback of money already earned as well as significant benefit cuts.

The “clawback” feature garnishes money from pensioners’ checks–stealing money already earned from first responder retirement accounts. It’s tantamount to going to your bank to withdraw your money from your account and the bank telling you, “No.”

The associations representing active and retired police and firefighters have negotiated in good faith. City leaders have not. Instead, they have made an orchestrated attempt to bring the fund to the brink of disaster. To allow city leaders to gain control of the fund would be catastrophic.  The city and its leadership have shown they cannot be trusted. They have never kept their promises to their first responders regarding pay compensation and pension matters. Only the courts have held the city accountable.

Look at all the previous money spent, missing or squandered. The $420 million plus for the Trinity River Corridor Project. The $5 million Trinity River Dallas Wave and the estimated $3 million price tag to remove it. The $182 million price tag for the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. The almost $30 million in federal HUD money unaccounted for by the city.

The list is endless.

Mayor Rawlings and his cronies say the city must take over the fund because they have had no control over it. But with four city members on the pension board, the city has had oversight. City leaders approved every provision of the pension and DROP program.

And while city leaders were willing to issue $535 million in pension obligation bonds for the city’s civilian pension, Mayor Rawlings refuses to do anything for its first responders.

Rawlings wants you to believe our first responders became rich from DROP, but the vast majority do not have millions in their accounts. They merely have enough to live with dignity (not extravagantly) and pay their bills in their twilight years. In the mid-90s, the city designed DROP to stop first responders from leaving the city for better employment. DROP ensured that while the city would not pay these brave souls an equitable salary, DROP would see them through their retirement years.

Every active and retired police officer and firefighter faithfully kept their promises to the city. They answered every call. July 7th serves as a grim reminder of the sacrifices made so that the city of Dallas and its citizens can prosper.

Your first responders need your help. Now is the time to answer the call and make City Hall keep its promises to preserve the police and fire pension. Tell City Hall and Austin and that you do not support the clawback and you do not support the Mayor’s Taxpayers for a Fair Pension Plan. Tell them you support the  compromise plan from the active and retired Dallas police and firefighters groups.

With all the rhetoric bantered about, it’s probably difficult to determine the truth.

The bottom line, though, is really quite simple: Who do you trust with your life?  City Hall with its politicians and business cronies?  Or your police and firefighters?