From a slide in Director Hellwig's police reorganization presentation.
It took a couple of days of nudging, but I was able to get the Courier to post Acting Police Director Martin Hellwig's long letter in this past Sunday's Courier online (see here).
In the letter, Director Hellwig takes the Courier to task as not giving him credit enough for his professionalism and dedication to the job. Some points are well made, and you will want to read Hellwig's letter completely through for yourself.
The piece does, however, leave this reader with a couple of questions.
REGARDING THAT 'EXECUTIVE POLICE CAPTAIN'
Regarding an 'executive police captain', Director Hellwig says --ON HIS MEDICAL BENEFITS
Contrary to some popular, purposeful distortion of the truth, I do not have an executive police captain handling day-to-day responsibilities in the police division. [Emphasis added.]This may be the case, but when Hellwig pitched the Green/Robinson-Briggs police reorganization plan to the City Council, he used a slide from which the detail above is taken, clearly and explicitly showing that a Captain would function as the 'Executive Officer'. The story in which this is discussed, with a visual of the COMPLETE slide in question, is here.
My question was, and still is, WHEN DID THIS CHANGE? When was the Council or the public told that this proposed organization would NOT be implemented and that another one would be?
And does the current organization of the Police Division represent a 'bait and switch' from the plan originally presented to the Council?
On the matter of benefits, Director Hellwig writes --
I did not receive medical benefits. That is an approximate $14,000 in savings to the citizens of Plainfield.Well, yes. And, well...no.
Unless I am mistaken, Director Hellwig is a retired sworn police officer with more than 25 years experience. Under the rules of the State's pension system, within which police officers have a special setup, I believe Director Hellwig ALREADY HAS FULL MEDICAL BENEFITS.
Medical benefits may never have been a real issue with the job. Why would one want to give that up for a job that goes away when the boss goes away? A little special pleading that really doesn't advance his truly legitimate points.
REVENUES FROM 'MOTOR-VEHICLE ENFORCEMENT'
Director Hellwig speaks to the matter of receipts to the City from traffic enforcement thusly ---ABOUT HIS SALARY
Revenues to the city via motor-vehicle enforcement has increased significantly.True enough, though it leaves out the fact that -- as Director Hellwig himself has publicly pointed out -- those very receipts fell precipitously in his first year in the job, and are only now beginning to approach the levels seen under the McWilliams administration.
With regard to his salary and its relation to those of 'his' Police Division Captains and the Fire Division salaries, the real question is not WHY ISN'T HELLWIG'S PAY MORE EQUITABLE? It is WHY HASN'T THE ROBINSON-BRIGGS ADMINISTRATION ADDRESSED THIS SALARY INEQUITY?WHEN IS 'ACTING' NO LONGER AN OPTION?
As has been pointed out elsewhere, Hellwig is still currently the 'ACTING POLICE DIRECTOR', an assignment which was made last April.And if they learn it's needed from reading one of the blogs, what better justification is there for bloggers' benefits to the community?
There are two conflicting positions on how long a person can hold an 'ACTING' designation. In one instance the number is 45 days, in another one year.
I think we can safely assume the shorter is not going to be applied in this case. That leaves the ONE YEAR limit, which is rapidly approaching.
Will the Robinson-Briggs administration make a timely move? Let's hope.
- Martin Hellwig, Courier OpEd: "Putting a lot into 'a little extra'"
- Plainfield Today: "Take-home city vehicles on agenda tonight"
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3 comments:
Hellwig clearly wrote this OpEd because he was disturbed by "what others thought" of him. He gives himself a pat on the back for doing what he's paid to do. The positon he holds is on an executive level, as such, he is paid to use his cognitive ability to implement strategies and plans that advance public safety and save the City money if possible. Why blow your own horn then? He talks the high praise of the police department, but doesn't mention the race problem inside the PD. Watch closely I believe there are several officers now dealing directly with the AG's office of Civil Rights. Let's see what he has to say when that comes out. As for the ticket revenue, most of it is coming from cash strapped citizens who are subjected to higher taxes and now we squeeze them even further with a "quota." No other town hammers its own citizens and then openly talks about it as a source of generating revenue. Are you kidding? Imagine Westfield PD hammering its citizens and then bragging about it as a way to generate revenue.
What would it mean if Hellwig showed one plan to the city council, but never intended or never did implement it? Is that lying or "misspeaking" as they like to use? It never ceases to amaze me how these public officials want credit if something positive happens-no blame if something goes wrong, and a pat on the back for doing what they get paid to do! If the job is taking away family time, and you're putting in too much "free" time, disabuse yourself and move on to greener pastures.
The Director states "In fact, the City of Plainfield assigns a taxable federal amount to my income via the use of this vehicle."
And just how is that done?
The IRS calls for employers to keep accurate and comprehensive travel records detailing how much mileage is used for work and how much is used for personal needs. I seriously doubt that any records exist.
"If you give an employee something other than money, you have to value it, report it and tax it."
So the Director is pretty good in throwing out numbers and statistics but failed to provide some insight as to what that benefit amounted to.
Oh well, it's all a numebrs game anyway.
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