Two lieutenants and 14 sergeants were promoted Thursday bolstering supervisory ranks albeit suffering overall losses in staffing levels due to morale and pay issues.
Promoted to lieutenant were: Brian Dickerson and Jeffrey Grice. Promoted to sergeant were: Stacey Lyons, Trevor Niestemski, Frank Jacobellis, William Simpson, Scott Waehler, Paul Scillia, Ivan Delgado, Lawrence Lazaro Jr., Eric Schneider, Bernard Webb, Jonathan Duharte, Adam Rozum, Christopher Robinson and Gabor Meszaros.
The city is challenged to compete with the pay scale and benefits offered by surrounding communities. Veteran members of the department have left-–many cashing in retirement pay–-for higher-paying communities and private-sector security positions. Some within the department also say morale issues have forged departures. In recent years collective bargaining agreements have required city police officers to contribute growing shares to medical benefits. Some area communities are offering lateral movement hires, meaning city officers can segue right into the respective systems because they are certified in law enforcement. The towns save money on training of recruits.
The overall law enforcement strength is now under 380 officers for the first time in two decades with the specter of losing dozens more to retirement come January 2015. A recruitment class of 17 coming on line later this year will help replenish losses. Police overtime that had been reeled in by Assistant Chief James Nardozzi has now kicked in to address the attrition, according to police sources.
The challenge for the city is keeping pace with additional losses that could occur come 2015.
There are jobs in the City right now. They are City jobs as public safety officers. They are BOE jobs as math and science teachers, and literacy specialists. What is holding the unemployed or underemployed from applying, assuming requisite skills and background? Time will tell.
The mayor said he wants a police force as diverse as the city it serves.
“We want them to represent all our communities in enforcing the law,” he said.
That was in the Conn. Post, well that’s an out-and-out lie. The testing requirements David Dunn has in place and approved by Mayor Finch for hiring in the police and fire department are designed to hold back Bridgeport residents. All one has to do is to look at the hiring list from the past police and firefighter list and the facts will show how Mayor Finch has told a lie.
Ron Mackey, please forgive my ignorance. Can you clarify what you mean exactly how the test in question is designed to hold black residents back?
Steve, Ron said the test hurt Bridgeport residents and I agree a test can be designed to give you any result the purchaser wants. I personally think Police and Firefighters should be city residents when they are hired. They should also have a maximum age for recruits.
Steven Auerbach, Andy Fardy got it right. But Steve, this is about Bridgeport residents and females, the mayor said about the firefighter exam if the numbers didn’t reflect the makeup of the City, he would throw the test out and he was told he couldn’t do that because it would be against the law but he could make the changes before the notice of the test was put out to the public. Well, he didn’t and the numbers tell the story, he lies.
Btw, has anyone heard Shaquille O’Neal is looking to become a police officer? Not sure if this is a publicity stunt, but this could be excellent Public Relations for Police departments across the country.
Steve, just so you know. Shaquille O’Neal was an auxiliary police officer in Florida during the off season.
Steven Auerbach, the firefighter list the City used to hire, there were not any females of any race who were hired, none.
Under Mayor Finch, fewer Bridgeport residents have been hired for police and fire than under any mayor since Mandanici. Part of the problem is his choice to run civil service lacked any knowledge of said department and doesn’t live in the city so he has no stake in hiring city residents.
City council members would be better served if we had an ordinance like Hartford, which reads:
All council and Mayor appointments and unclassified employees employed by the City, shall maintain a continuous residence in the City during the period of such appointment or employment.
Keep all City jobs for taxpaying residents thereby keeping millions of tax dollars in our city. A top-step firefighter or policeman is making about $80,000 a yea and I know 75% of the fire department doesn’t live in Bridgeport, including the chief who’s taking over $200,000 per year. That’s a lot of money leaving the City of Bridgeport every year for which none is coming back into our City.
Mayor Finch could create a jobs hiring program just hiring Bridgeport residents for police, fire, public works and unclassified employees employed by the City. All we need is for the City Council to do like Hartford has done and David Dunn to change the testing process that is keeping females, blacks and Bridgeport residents out of the careers of being firefighters and police officers.