With little room for disagreement or debate it's kinda funny to read Kansas City Star columnist Yael Abouhalkah relentlessly push for wage and benefit cuts for the KCPD.
TKC QUESTION . . .
GIVEN THE CURRENT KANSAS CITY HIGH MURDER AND VIOLENT CRIME ENVIRONMENT DOES IT MAKE ANY SENSE TO CUT POLICE WAGES AND BENEFITS?!?!?
Yael's opinions clearly represent the same old privileged and elitist viewpoints that now rule the day at The Kansas City Star because they don't realize how vital the KCPD is to the safety of the urban core and the parts of this city where Star reporters don't often venture.
LINK: "Relax, KC cops: Health insurance change on hold"
Kinda standoffish, right? It reads like a guy very afraid he's going to lose a rhetorical argument despite an implied presumption of superiority in his chosen field.
The Star's cheering the All-Star Game and the spendthrift Mayor while cuts against the KCPD are under consideration. The only way that makes sense is to realize that the so-called paper-of-record isn't written for people who worry about public safety or the reality of Kansas City's mean streets.
This guy is a total sleeze bag. I hope some day you have a run in with a cop and you get yours . Or your house catches fire and the FF u bash shows up and knows its your house or you have a heart attack and the emt or paramedic doesn't give you aid to save your worthless fucking ass. Dont worry fael you will get yours someday .. someone should find his home address and post it on here.
ReplyDeletePlease don't. That's kind of low.
ReplyDeleteShut up
DeleteHis two sources are the Board President and the City Manager. Two voices from one side. No voice from any officers or the FOP. Hopefully there will be proper journalism somewhere in the market.
ReplyDeleteTo 12:33 you are wrong. If something unfortunate would occur to yael or his family, KCPD, KCFD and EMS would respond and handle the situation in the same professional and non-judgemental manner that we do every day. Anything less, and we would be lowering ourselves to his sad and shameful level.
ReplyDeletePlease dont have a crime happen at your home. The KCPD phone it in. You can report it for insurance purposes, they are not going to investigate it. This dept is the laziest, most worthlest dept I know.
ReplyDeleteI dont live in KC. We just had an incident in our neighborhood in Leawood where we have a safety issue (not criminal). The police car came immediately and eased our fears.
Kansas City? Give me a break. They dont care and dont come.
If you don't live here then shut your rich suck hole. Kansas city has bigger issues than your non-criminal issue. Stupid yuppie.
DeleteHey Johnson county. Come suck a fart out of your wifes Jackson countys boyfriends ass. Leawood cops couldn't handle the inner city . KC is real crime not your complaining ass hey my neighbors grass is to tall Johnson county bull Shit. Pussy. Ok I feel better. Fag
DeleteWould be nice to handle neighborhood issues that aren't criminal...wait a minute that sounds like a city mediation problem not a police matter which handles CRIMINAL issues.
Delete603, how the fuck do you know what you're talking about if you love in Leahood? The reason KCPD did not respond to your emergency is because you don't live in Kansas City!
ReplyDeleteSomeone please convince this tax payer why the KCFD should be treated any differently than other City employees and why they should not have the same health insurance as other City employees? And while you are at it...please tell me where we should find the money to pay for the raises and still maintain the health insurance.
ReplyDeleteWell its obvious you need a lot of help. Kcfd is under city healthcare. Kcfd has NOT got their raises they deserve . Sincerly the proud brother in blue . Stay strong FD we will get through this together.
DeleteDo people really think that cops should have the same benefits as truck sleepin' hole diggin' water department employees?
ReplyDelete8:56,
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing considering the main subject of the story you mean KCPD. Do yourself a favor and go on a police ride-along sometime. Then see if you can go down to ride with the water dept or parks and rec one day.
It might open your eyes and show you how inherently different the police are from other city workers.
From these posts way too may cops surfing the net.
ReplyDeleteStill no compeling reason why the KCPD should have cheaper health insurance AND a raise. Just some more of the hero BS. I have gone on a ride alongand I have friends that are cops. I am not anti-cop I just want to hear a compeling reason why the police should pay less than fellow City employees for health insurance. I will dispell one myth as a favor...thye do not have the most dangerous City job. BTW...I encourage everyone to do a ride along with the trash department right after the police ride along.
ReplyDeleteOur police and firefighters have had their sense of purpose replaced by a sense of entitlement.
If your suggesting trashy employees have a more dangerous job your sadly mistaken. Due to the fact that they walk around streets amongst moving vehicles they are exposed to risks however not nearly as much so as police officers or firefighters.
DeleteI would like you to that to your cop buddies faces. Pussy. And they deserve cheaper health care cause they earned it by staying healthy and having less claims then the rest of the city. Go to some city meeting and see why.
DeleteCop buddy faces? Fucking thug
Delete9:44, really, trash dept.? They get shot at, spit on purposely to get HIV. You are a moron. Cops need better health insurance to keep your sorry ass safe.
ReplyDeleteIt isn't about need, its about compensation based on the job they do. Most officers have a degree, work weekends, holidays and odd hours. They have to work under harsher, and yes, more dangerous conditions. They also have to put up with ignorant people bashing them. No other city employee has to do all those things. The health insurance savings has never been proven. I have never seen a breakdown stating it costs x amount now and will cost y after the change. This is why it should remain as is.
ReplyDeleteYael is always an expert on subjects he doesn't have all the facts on. He strived for mediocrity.
ReplyDeleteTo answer 9:44am. Compelling reason #1 is because WE EARN CHEAPER HEALTH INSURANCE BECAUSE WE ARE HEALTHIER. BY BEING HELATHIER WE SAVE THE CITY MONEY ON CHEAPER RATES. Reason #2 WE SHOULD GET A RAISE BECASUE EVERYONE ELSE THAT WORKS IN THE CITY GOT A RAISE EXCEPT US. SOME ON THE FD UP TO 30%. AS WELL AS LOCAL 500. Sorry I used the caps for effect. And if we don't have the most dangerous job in the city who does? I'd say we compete with fire for the most dangerous. As for the entitlement part, We want to be treated just as fairly as anyone else that works for the city, it's that simple.
ReplyDeleteHey I'm pd right along with u but fire hasn't seen a dime of their raises . Which proves the city is a bunch of lying cheating scum. I sat in the meeting on Sat when the council saisd openly to all of us that they gave fd raises when they new they didn't have the money to pay them. So it looks like on paper they got them but the bullshit crooks down in city hall still have yet to pay.
DeleteExempt employees with the city HAVE NOT HAD RAISES.
DeleteIt seems like Yael and everyone else who is against the PD and FD in this topic continue to term these as "raises" when in fact they are step increases. Just as with many companies, the police department has a scheduled pay step increase system set out over a number of years that tops out eventually. Since there has been a pay freeze for the last 3-5 years, the PD has not gotten any increase in pay. Ex. an officer that has been on nearly 5 years is making the same amount as a new officer, six months out of the academy. With the econonmy changing and costs of living rising monthly, the PD's "raises" as Yael is talking about are more about pairity and being where they should be. If all of the officers were making their current pay steps and still wanted money that would be raises. Term them how you want but remember that its about pairity and equality in pay.
ReplyDeleteDumbshit. A step increase is a raise. Go get your GED.
DeleteIt doesn't matter if you give fire or police raises; they'll always bitch. I've worked in news for 11 years, and covered 13 departments, and they're all the same. They use their "I'm putting my life on the line" bullshit to squeeze every little bit out of the taxpayer. They're worse than fucking veterans.
ReplyDeleteI hope today you get your ass kIcked. How darw you trash talk vets and other public safety . The ones who protect and gave the right to work and be free. You are the problem of this great country . People like you just need to cease to live
Deletefor the record...as far as dangerous jobs go:
ReplyDeletepoliceman>sanitation worker>firefighter
not an opinion. fact.
"The ones who protect and gave the right to work and be free" ?
ReplyDeleteI thought the Military did that.
The right to work is given by the constitution And bill of rights not police officers.
10:49
ReplyDeleteI love it. So the compeling reason is that KCPD rates are cheaper? Yeah...I am sure the health insurance rate for a police officer is cheaper than health insurance rate for a secretary.
As far as compeling reason #2 do you understand your own hypocrisy? You say you should get a raise because everyone else at the City got one (which I am not certain is true) but yet you insist that you should not have the health insurance that everyone else has.
You want the raises "everyone else is getting" but you are better than the insurance everyone else is getting. I could not have stated a better argument against your position. Thank you.
No caps needed...no need to yell when you are winning the argument.
KCFD and KCPD think they are on par with our military at war.
ReplyDeleteWhy not make raises a function of performance? Hell, make it directly proportional to the murder rate.
ReplyDeleteOk to the naysayers who contend that police do not deserve pay step increases (as agreed upon when hired) nor should they be given lower healthcare rates (though they've gotten lower rates by keeping themselves in shape) just because they work for the city like water dept employees, snow plow drivers, parks and rec, etc etc...
ReplyDeleteTry assuming for once that all of these services were private business entities and take the "city employees" part out of it. Are you saying that all of these jobs are exactly the same and as such they all deserve the exact same pay/benefits? Suppose McDonald's was a city service. Does the kid flipping burgers who doesn't even have his GED deserve equal pay/benefits as the police who come to your aid when there's an active shooter in Ward Parkway Mall or the firefighter who pulls your family from a fully involved structure fire?
Your answer to this lies in your character as to whether you actually value human life in itself.
Make no mistake. Police and fire inherently do their job because they have the desire to serve the public and help those in need. But if they can make better pay and get better healthcare benefits elsewhere, they will leave Kansas City to do so. It is already happening. And a few years down the road, the questions might not be "why are they paid so much?" (I use the phrasing "paid so much" very loosely here) or "why do they receive good healthcare?" It might be more along the lines of "where did all of the police police and firefighters go that I thought we hired?"
In closing, the public's safety is exponentially related to the number of police and firefighters that you're able to retain. Simple as that.
Sadly, focus is being shifted to the cops and firefighters with boots on the ground when it should be on the politicians who are responsible for this mess. This isn't about health insurance, it is about James and Schulte strong arming public safety and pitting fire and pd against each other with this $5/$7.5 million prize. In the end they are stealing taxpayer money that is supposed to go to pd and fd so that they can line the pockets of their developer buddies by building a downtown hotel and train.
ReplyDeleteThey signed up for it. Quit bitching.
ReplyDeleteThey signed up for it? No dipshit they signed up for a set up pay scale and benefits that have not happened in the last 3-5 years. They didn't sign up to be screwed by the city. But
Deletegoing off that logic, why is everyone bitching about the murder rate? If 2 gang bangers are shooting at each other and one of them gets killed, isn't that what they signed up for?
Just because police PAY lower insurance rates does not mean that the cost of their ionsurance is lower. If you claim it's the most dangerous job then common sense will tell you that their health insurance is higher. Also, they don't PAY lower rates because they are in shape (isn't that kind of a job requirement anyways?) it's because the City pitches in more for it and would likely save money if they could pool them in with the City. I have never heard so many aruments contradict themselves or be out right hypocritical.
ReplyDeleteAll of you morons that think this bullshit is gonna pit fire and police against each other are sadly mistaken. This is the type of crap that makes us unite and like each other even more. We know what each other goes through while the city minions tell us lie after lie. We didn't sign up for our jobs to be wealthy. We signed up because we love what the jobs are all about. Unity, brotherhood and sacrifice are things other jobs can't say they have. We just want what was promised during negotiations. The city tells us one thing but always does another. I'll take my whopping 13 dollars an hour 4 years later and still do my job as a professional. If you all that bitch about us knew the facts, then you'd probably have a different opinion.
ReplyDeleteIt's comical how easy it is to see the difference between a PD post and a FD post even when they do not identify themselves.
ReplyDeleteAnd your point is?
ReplyDeleteEveryone on here should do a Google search for "Kansas City Salary Database". Feel free to look at police officers pay...Some are paid more, some paid less. (more than likely less). Then go to other city positions and look at their pay. Specifically look at the City Manager Department. Does Troy Schulte really do a job that should pay $133,000 a year? Does he really need three "assistant" city managers who make between $103,000 to $145,000 ? Why exactly does the City Managers Department need TWENTY "customer service specialists" ? Do that many people call their office with questions? Do some research on this site and then decide if their are other things that maybe should be addressed by the tax payer prior to complaining to our police and fire departments. Oh and by the way...these are all rates from 2009...Troy schulte now makes $187,000 a year.
ReplyDeleteNot a fireman so I don't understand their pay scale so can someone tell me how Cindy Circo's husband made over $10,000 more as a fireman than some fire Captains? I sure don't get it.
DeleteHmmmm, "Code enforcement officer" and a "Tree Trimmer" with the park and rec department make more than some police officers. :-/
ReplyDelete"Does Troy Schulte really do a job that should pay $133,000 a year?" HA! He has probably cost the city twice that amount with his f@ck-ups!
ReplyDeleteDeb wins! "I hope this year when we have additional layoffs, you receive as many phone calls as I do!" - Deb Hermann
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEFz1l7sIHk
Well apparently Mr.schulte believes he needs $64,000 raise while all other city employees have their pay frozen.
ReplyDeleteSniff, Sniff.... Heroes.
ReplyDeleteSniff, sniff....douche that hides behind his computer making anonymous comments.
ReplyDeleteI love it when d-bags like 11:53pm leave comments about others hiding behind their computer yet his post is anonymous as well. That's just too funny.
ReplyDeleteGet him Fishbone!!!
ReplyDelete