Corporatism comes to Calvert County

[LightRoasted]

If I may ...

It seems that corporatism has come to, and is alive and well, in Calvert County. Government and business collusion occupies a seat in the Calvert County Sheriffs Department with the full blessing of the Calvert County Commissioners.

On the face of this article in the Recorder, Commissioners vote to allow retired Calvert deputies to work without participating in pension plan, the commissioners just voted on a regular and mundane amendment to the retirement code for Sheriff’s Department Pension Plan, but that is far from what happened.

Here is the admission of what is really happening, "Shannon said in an interview that the deputies who are contracted by Dominion Cove Point have a high level of training and expertise, and the amendment is needed to retain the employees who have reached the length of service cap for the retirement plan. If a deputy is employed by the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office, it is a requirement to contribute to the retirement plan. The retired deputies continuing to serve in their previous capacities will be contracted and will not contribute any more to the plan, as their salary is paid by a source other than the county."

So we have deputies, who aren't employees (can't be an employee if not paid by the employer) of the Sheriff's office, still allowed to be deputies, being paid by Dominion. Does anyone see a conflict of interest here? If security is so important for Dominion, why not just hire a security firm that specializes in the security that is needed for the type of facility they have and liaison with the Sheriff's dept when necessary? The Calvert County Commissioners, and The Sheriff, have sold out to the highest bidder. Damn the people.

The people of Calvert have been sold out by Sheriff Evans and the Calvert County Commissioners.

What should have happened is that these deputies should have lost all their police powers after retirement, then been hired as security for Dominion, by Dominion, since they have such a "high level of training and expertise". No one can be loyal to two masters.

 

[BigBlue]

Many towns and places are turning to privet security firms to Police their towns .

 

[GregV814]

If I may........


so what.

 

[glhs837]

Many towns and places are turning to privet security firms to Police their towns .

Dunno about "many". It has happened, but I'm pretty sure the amount of govt entities who have private security is under 1%. And that of course doesn't address the point that this post of yours really has no bearing on the OPs point.

 

[BigBlue]

Dunno about "many". It has happened, but I'm pretty sure the amount of govt entities who have private security is under 1%. And that of course doesn't address the point that this post of yours really has no bearing on the OPs point.

Actually it has more of a bearing than yours does.

 

[Gilligan]

Actually it has more of a bearing than yours does.

uh..definitely not, kid.

 

[stgislander]

Is this just another Dominion bashing thread?

 

[officeguy]

I rather have the plant guarded by reserve deputies than by armed security guards. Also gives the sheriff some extra reservists for major disasters or the zombie apocalypse.

 

[Gilligan]

I'm having a hard time seeing why Dominion cannot simply hire those retired deputies directly and/or other qualified professional security personnel. Since when did county government enter in to the private/commercial contract services business?

 

[glhs837]

I'm having a hard time seeing why Dominion cannot simply hire those retired deputies directly and/or other qualified professional security personnel. Since when did county government enter in to the private/commercial contract services business?

I think that's what this thing is doing, making them straight contract. But the wording makes it a bit hard to understand.

 

[LightRoasted]

If I may ...

Is this just another Dominion bashing thread?

No, it is not a Dominion bashing thread. It is a call inform the public of the government-corporate collusion that is setting up shop right in their own backyards. These are not "reserve deputies" as they still maintain their previous position with the department. Would you be conformable with the commissioners being paid a majority of their income by Dominion for consulting? You would not know who their loyalty was with, the people or them. Same with these deputies.

 

[Gilligan]

I think that's what this thing is doing, making them straight contract. But the wording makes it a bit hard to understand.

If they are simply contract employees to Dominion..why is there any need for the county government to be involved in any, way, shape, or form? Since when did private security personnel require "police powers" to perform their duties?

 

[glhs837]

That's why I said the wording was funny. I think perhaps there was no provision for retired officers to contribute to the county retirement plan past retirement date, it was assumed, I guess that it would just sit there growing on it's own. So the change is to allow retired officers to keep contributing after 20 years? No skin off my nose, as I can't see how that would affect anyone's objectivity. As for the police powers thing, given such a facility might be a prime target, that might have something to do with them needing officers holding a certain standard, unlike say St Mary's College. Guessing here, trying to use old Razor.

 

[officeguy]

Would you be conformable with the commissioners being paid a majority of their income by Dominion for consulting? You would not know who their loyalty was with, the people or them. Same with these deputies.

Apples and pineapples. The deputies just work the plant and beyond their role as voters, have no say in the affairs of the county, or even the management of the sheriffs dept.

If they didn't hire on with Dominion, they would work for some small municipal police force in Florida or Alabama. Dominion otoh could charter a special police force to guard the plant.

Around the country, it is not uncommon for police departments to have officers on the force that are paid through grants or cost-shares from third parties. This could be walmart, a school district, the federal government or a pipeline operator. They account for their hours under the coop agreement, but if the need arises to respond to something unrelated to the grantee, they are available to the department. Nothing nefarious about it.

 

[Amused_despair]

Dominion employee physically assaults a protestor, the deputy whose salary is paid by Dominion responds to the incident. What do you think will happen?

 

[Gilligan]

That's why I said the wording was funny. I think perhaps there was no provision for retired officers to contribute to the county retirement plan past retirement date, it was assumed, I guess that it would just sit there growing on it's own. So the change is to allow retired officers to keep contributing after 20 years? .

I read it the opposite way; the change was to allow officers to remain on "active duty" without having to contribute (or have their contract employer contribute) anything to their pension fund. No?

 

[Chris0nllyn]

I read it the opposite way; the change was to allow officers to remain on "active duty" without having to contribute (or have their contract employer contribute) anything to their pension fund. No?

“This amendment allows the Sheriff to select up to three members of the plan to retire, on paper, and begin to draw retirement benefits while coming back to work in their same position, entitled to the same County benefits that they were entitled to prior to their retirement. In substance, they have not retired. The availability of this option for three members, selected by the sheriff, is considered inequitable by the Board of Trustees,” the letter states.

http://www.somdnews.com/article/201...ies-to-work-without&template=southernMaryland

Seems shady to me. Carving out exemptions for individuals to work for a company while collecting the benefits from the county, as a county employee, but not technically an employee of the county, and making sure they don't have to contribute to their pension fund, and no requirement to Dominion to contribute to that fund.

 

[officeguy]

Dominion employee physically assaults a protestor, the deputy whose salary is paid by Dominion responds to the incident. What do you think will happen?

Could get sticky. It will be up to the sheriff to make sure that everything is on the up and up.

 

[Gilligan]

Seems shady to me. Carving out exemptions for individuals to work for a company while collecting the benefits from the county, as a county employee, but not technically an employee of the county, and making sure they don't have to contribute to their pension fund, and no requirement to Dominion to contribute to that fund.

Very shady. For what public/taxpayer benefit is this being considered?

 

[officeguy]

Seems shady to me. Carving out exemptions for individuals to work for a company while collecting the benefits from the county, as a county employee, but not technically an employee of the county, and making sure they don't have to contribute to their pension fund, and no requirement to Dominion to contribute to that fund.

Why should they not be able to draw their pension after they have paid in the requisite years ?

Financially, it makes no difference to the pension plan whether they draw their pension while
- sitting at home drinking beer
- working as greeter at walmart
- working as officer for the Polk City, FL
- working as a contractor guarding the gas plant.

If they continued to pay in past the years required, they would get a higher pension upon their final retirement. It would improve the financial standing of the pension plan during that time, but it would eventually cost more. That's what pension plan administrators have actuaries for.

Now there has been monkeybusiness before with this, e.g. the case of Marcus Brown, the former state police super who was allowed to draw a Baltimore city pension after only 15 years while getting a full salary from the state.