Town Hall Meeting

Last night I had a Town Hall meeting at Lamar High School. Again it was well attended, with well over 150-200 people there. As stated I am blessed with citizens that want to be informed. At one point in the evening the President of the Fire Fighters Union and I got into a dialogue about Civil Service. He stated a few things that i totally disagree with. 1. That if Civil Service was implemented that Council would be taking away their benefits. My thoughts were that your current benefit package rests with the City form of governance and not with Civil Service. If you want your current benefits package do not request Civil Service. If you want Civil Service then you get what the state provides not a hybrid of the two systems.  There will not be a cherry picking event where you get the good parts of the city system and add them to the Civil Service form of government.  This I'm afraid is what the Union is selling to its members, and it simply won't happen.  2. His next statement is that "Meet and Confer" will be an avenue to change Civil Service in a way that is beneficial to both parties. Again Meet and Confer rests with the City not the State. Meet and Confer will be a fond memory under Civil Service. And Lastly he stated that firings occur all the time under Civil Service. I strongly suggest that Mr. Crow read this article in the Wall Street Journal to figure out why these police officers in other cities cannot be fired. 

http://www.wsj.com/articles/why-some-problem-cops-dont-lose-their-badges-1483115066

The main body of the Town Hall Meeting was about all of the investment that is coming to Arlington.  Essentially, the total worth of the city is $12 billion.  The total investment to this city in the next few years is $4 billion.  This means that businesses want to come to Arlington and invest there money in our city.  This rate of investment is staggering.  At one point in the evening a lady stated that 74% of the children in our city are considered impoverished and that Arlington is headed downhill.  This is her opinion and it couldn't be further from the trend I see in Arlington.  This city is going vertical in development, and that means jobs.  The vehicle to get people out of poverty is jobs and the growth in our city will require thousands and thousands of jobs, which pay money and remove Arlington residents from poverty.  You are in the Best Big City in the South to live in (Money Magazine).  So act like it and be proud of the changes that have been made to get us here, and the changes to come, that are going to make our city even better.

A Letter from a Regular Fireman

This is a letter that came to me a while back.  I love our Firemen but not their Union.  This letter shows the frustration of the rank and file in the Arlington Fire Department, and how they feel about their representation.

Mr. Parker,

 

My name is XXXXXXXXX.  I have been a Fireman here in Arlington for 36+ yrs.  I am presently a XXXXXX at Fire Station XX.  I usually don’t get involved in city politics, and keep the rumor mill out of my Station.  Someone sent me a link to your blog the other day and I decided to check it out.  I must commend on your statements regarding the APFA as well has the APD issue.  It’s refreshing to hear somebody finally tell it like it is.

 

I have been a member of the APFA since I was hired in 1979.  I rarely went to meetings, but paid my dues just in case I needed some help one day.  I never saw the APFA do anything really positive, and they mostly just kept the pot stirred.  But since David Crow took over, the APFA has turned into a Mafia style operation that is going to destroy the Fire Dept.  I actually attended a meeting several months ago.  I was so disgusted with the E Board’s sense of entitlement and the way they treated me that I resigned on the spot.  They are out of control and on a personal vendetta against Chief Crowson, no matter what the cost.  It’s amazing to me the City Hall still has discussions with the APFA.  So I wanted to say thank you for telling it like it is.  I would like to invite you out to the Station for lunch or dinner if you’re interested.  My crew has the same attitude towards the APFA as I do and we would enjoy the opportunity to chat.  Please feel free to contact me via email or phone.

 

 

Thanks for getting the truth out to the public and employees. 

January 24th Council Meeting

Arlington Council Put Civil Service on Ballot

 

Last night I did something at Council that I have never done before.  I voted against a valid petition to put Civil Service on the ballot in Arlington by the Fire Fighter’s Union.  I did this because I knew from the comments of my colleagues that it would pass and go on the ballot, but I could not support it.

We have given the Firemen one of the best jobs in the Metroplex.  They work in the Best Big City in the South (Money Magazine), and receive one of the best wages in North Texas, for Fire Fighters.  For all these things that have been given to them, the Union shows their gratitude by slapping Council and City Management in the Face.  They want PERMANEANT JOBS!.  The reality of this statement is that, under Civil Service a Fire Fighter could murder someone and we could only put him on Indefinite suspension .  That’s right!  Although he might be sitting on death row, the City of Arlington would still have him on our books because we can’t get rid of him.  I hope the voters of Arlington have this knowledge when they step into the voting booth in May.

Town Hall Meeting

I am holding a Town Hall Meeting at Lamar High School this Thursday the 26th of January at 6:30.
The subject will be crime in North Arlington by Chief Jeff Petty.
The next subject will be the expansion of the Kroger Store by Ron Smith, Planning and Zoning Commissioner.
I will go over the apartments on Washington, and then I will cover the progress of all of the projects in North Arlington and the other special projects in our city.
I will also have a brief on the Senior Center and I will touch on Civil Service for our Fire Department.
I hope to see you all there.  This has been the first Town Hall in 9 months.


Charlie

Civil Service and the AFF (Discipline)

The Union has had a problem with the way the Fire Chief, Don Crowson is doing his job and has tried to get him fired for the last three years.  Now they have escalated their unhappiness to Deputy City Manager Bowman and the City Manager.  Their unhappiness was with their W-2 pay.  The Council addressed that.  Now they are unhappy with the disciplinary system and the hiring and promotion practices, and they are willing to reduce their W-2’s in order to change this process.

The Fire Union is seeking to break away from the city’s protection umbrella and seek protection under the state program of Civil Service.  In the afternoon meeting of the January 3^rd Council Session we had a very good brief by Ms. Lisa Zepeda one of our staff lawyers.   The subject matter addressed the differences between current Arlington disciplinary action versus Civil Service procedure.  The Civil Service process is contained within Part 143 of the Texas Local Government Code.  Ms. Zepeda stated that the purpose of this section is for the employee to, “HAVE A JOB FOR LIFE.”  Personally I don’t agree with this concept and I believe that it is detrimental to the overall quality of the Arlington Fire Department.  Our Firefighters do a great job and service our community remarkably.  I don’t believe that it would be productive nor foster a healthy environment, to allow a bad apple to rot in our department when he/she should have been dismissed.

Ms. Zepeda went back 13 years and compiled the records of discipline between the previous Chief and the current Chief.  It was found that the current Chief’s record of discipline is 23% less than his predecessor.  It was also brought out that the Chief does not administer the discipline.  But a panel of Assistant Chiefs decides the level of punishment.  The Chief can only either agree or reduce the punishment.  Here again this shows the dysfunction of the Fire Union.   Council is tired of these misrepresentations of facts.

First it was the squad concept that the Union couldn’t handle.  But this concept has been adopted by Fire Departments throughout the United States and is considered the most efficient way to administer protection to our citizens.  Next it was “The Book” accusing the Chief of fiscal misconduct.  Council requested an audit that exonerated the Chief and pointed out that the utilization of overtime by the fire department was excessive.  The Chief reduced overtime from 35,000 hrs. to 6,000 hrs.. Then the Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) complaint was made to Council.  Again another audit was preformed and recommendations were made and accomplished by the Chief.  Then because of a complaint of low morale, an independent survey was accomplished.  The Chief again made corrections and the Union ignored the results.  The Council brought up the Fire Fighter’s W-2 to be superior to other departments in the Metroplex.  I might add that a entry level (F1) Fire Fighter, 5 years out of high school, will make $77,000 as a base pay.  Now the Union wants to break away from the City and seek protection under the State’s Civil Service Laws.

The issue of Civil Service will be on the ballot in May of this year.  Personally I am tired of this Union’s whining like mistreated children.  They have a great job in the Best Big City in the South, with a great wage.  Grow Up.   I ask for a NO Vote On Civil Service!!!    Stop the JOBS FOR LIFE movement.   http://www.wsj.com/articles/why-some-problem-cops-dont-lose-their-badges-1483115066