The Broward Centurion

Transcription

1 Volume 16, Issue 3 March 2013 The Broward Centurion The Official Publication of The Broward County Police Benevolent Association Meet Our New General Counsel Julio E. Gonzalez Jr. In This Issue: It s PBA Scholarship time... 4 From The Sr. Vice President... 5 Sheriff s Response To The PBA... 7 Good News... 8 The Broward County PBA is pleased to announce that after a extensive search, we now have a new General Counsel, Julio E. Gonzalez Jr. We look forward to working with Julio to serve our membership, says PBA President Jeff Marano. He has the expertise our members need. We re excited about having him join the team. Julio has a BA in education from Manhattan College and received his law degree from Syracuse University. He began his 17- year career in law as an assistant district attorney with the Kings County District Attorney s Office in Brooklyn, New York. Mr. Gonzalez has also served as a senior trial attorney with the Legal Aid Society s Criminal Defense Division in the Manhattan Supreme Court. He moved to Florida in 2000 to take a position as an assistant state attorney in the Miami-Dade County State Attorney s Office. In addition to his experience as a prosecutor, Julio has practiced as a criminal defense attorney in both state and federal courts. He has also taught various aspects of the law and criminal justice at Manhattan College, the College of Mount Saint Vincent, the University of Phoenix and at Nova Southeastern University, where he is currently an adjunct professor. In 2006, Governor Jeb Bush appointed Julio to the Broward County Court. He was assigned to several divisions, including the Domestic Violence Division. Since leaving the bench he has been in private practice as a criminal defense attorney. He also has represented judicial officials in ethic inquires and criminal cases. I m looking forward to serving the men and women of the Broward County PBA, representing their interests to the best of my ability, he says. We welcome Julio and look forward to working with him.

2 The Broward Centurion March 2013 The Broward Centurion The Official Publication of the Broward County PBA (A Charter of the Florida PBA) 2650 West State Road 84 Fort Lauderdale, Florida Telephone: 954/ Fax: 954/ Megan Gordon, Editor The Broward Centurion is published by the Broward County Police Benevolent Association for the sole benefit of its members. The Broward Centurion is dedicated to the advancement of the law enforcement profession through better and stronger community relations. The opinions expressed in the publication of The Broward Centurion are not necessarily those of the Broward County PBA, its Executive Board or the Board of Directors. Members or readers submitting letters to the editor or articles for publication are requested to adhere to the following: Submissions should be sent to: Broward County PBA Attn: Centurion 2650 West State Road 84 Fort Lauderdale, Florida Letters or articles must be accompanied by the writer s true name and address. All articles submitted for publication must be accompanied by a statement giving permission to publish. All submissions must be legible. The Broward County PBA reserves the right of the Executive Board or Editor to amend or to add an editor s comment to any article or letter submitted. Advertisement in this publication does not imply endorsement by the Broward County PBA unless otherwise specified. President s Letter February has been a productive month for us, with both Miramar and Hallandale Beach ratifying new contracts. Hallandale approved a three-year agreement and Miramar voted in a two-year agreement. The CBAs were overwhelmingly ratified by our membership, and we are waiting for the local governments to pass them via resolution. The new state legislative session begins on March 5th. We are tracking two bills, SB 458, which concerns municipal pensions, and HB 7011, which impacts the Florida Retirement System. SB 458 has passed committee, while HB 7011 has been temporarily put on hold. We have confirmed with Sheriff Israel that when the new OSSI comes online in each district, deputies will no longer be required to fill out dailies. It is an honor for us to serve those who protect and serve. Thank you for standing with us. Jeff Marano 2

3 The Broward Centurion March 2013 Executive Board Senior Vice President Debbie Reggio Vice President Rodney Skirvin Board of Directors (Support) Paul Weiss At Large (LE) Michael Joseph Catalano James DeMato Ian Doriot Armando Enrique Robert Lahiff Vince Marlin Chris Palamara Jim Pendergast Jeff Poole District (LE) Ken Bove Christopher Bradley Chris Caldwell Carlo Cardarelli Kelli Covet Rich Engels John Herrera Dean Mirra Art Perry Robert Petoskey Victor Rivas Ivan Roiz Ralph Romb Jerry Vosburgh (Lts) Linda Canada-Stuck Broward Schools Investigative Unit Bobby Spence Coconut Creek Dan Eberly Darren Karp Coconut Creek (Sgts) Kirk Carlson Hallandale Beach Marc Dady Ed Diaz Ed McGovern Thomas Montellanico - Alt. Hillsboro Beach David Clark President Jeff Marano General Counsel Julio Gonzalez Jr. Treasurer Drew Brooks Secretary Lee Martin Hollywood Steven Bolger Chris Christianson Rick Losenbeck Keith Wadsworth Wilbur Fernander - Alt. Lighthouse Point Chris Oh Carmen Roldan Margate (Spvrs) Andy Zettek Miramar George Mankowski Thomas Tiberio Scott Untch Peter Bermudez - Alt. Jason Fox - Alt. Pembroke Pines Andrew Brooks Adam Feiner Chris Grant Sea Ranch Lakes Ron Stabile Mike Tarr - Alt. Sunrise Joel Schiller Sunrise (Lts) Bob Dorn Wilton Manors Shawn Chadwick Nicholas Fiacco Gary Blocker Immediate Past President Pat Hanrahan Legislative Chairman Neil Vaughan Welcome New Members Kenneth Ballastrone Marcos Bastidas Andrew Clark Robert C. Chenner Marlon Fernandez Matthew Gioielli Gavin Henry Jonathan Hernandez Robert N. Joseph Adam Koenig Christopher Moniz Michael Nashed Jeffrey Newstat Anthony Pagano Daniel O. Ruiz Reinstated Steven Sprouse Retired John Bukata Mary Guess Arthur Metzler Associate Anne Miller Pembroke Pines Hollywood Pembroke Pines Pembroke Pines Hollywood Pembroke Pines Pembroke Pines Hollywood Hollywood Office Staff Charter Secretary/Detail Coordinator Kim Receptionist/Membership Lynn Membership Linda Legal Assistant Maryann Communications Director Megan 3

4 The Broward Centurion March It s PBA Scholarship Time Deadline is April 15 Do you need money for college? Are you a full or part-time student at an accredited two or four-year college or university? Apply for the 2013 PBA Scholarship. Applicants must be the son or daughter of a Broward PBA member. The parent must have at least two years of PBA membership and currently be a member in good standing. Applications can be downloaded from our website: bcpba. org/scholarship. The deadline for completed applications is Monday, April 15. Good luck! Correction On page four of the February 2013 edition of The Broward Centurion there is an error in the story entitled Contract Updates. The Pembroke Pines CBA included a total of $1.3 million in financial benefits, not $13 million as reported. Additionally, Pines was able to negotiate their 40-hour work week back. We apologize for the error. Legislative Update Pension bills to watch The Florida PBA is hard at work in Tallahassee, watching for bills that could affect members around the state. Once again this session, pension reform appears to be a hot-button issue: There are bills in committee concerning both municipal pensions and the Florida Retirement System (FRS). In the Senate, Democrat Jeremy Ring and the Senate Government Oversight and Accountability Committee are looking at SB 458, which seeks to revamp how municipal pensions fund extra benefits with 185 money. This bill will affect those pensions who have an unfunded liability of less than 80%. It is meant to stop the stockpiling of the 185 funds for extra benefits. In the House, Republican Jason Brodeur and the House Government Operations Subcommittee are attempting to make changes to the FRS that would address the issue of their being fewer active employees and more retirees, a situation which will cause problems about 20 years down the road. This bills closes the plan to new participants, burning up the issue of how the plan will be sustained going forward. The measure could also cause employees hired after January 1, 2014 to lose disability benefits through FRS. The Florida PBA has weighed in on these bills and have proposed alternatives that will protect our members. According to reports presented in Tallahassee during the week of February 11, the FRS is one of the healthiest pension funds in the world and local pensions are improving due to collective bargaining agreements, the rebounding financial market and 2011 reforms. Additionally, a report meant to provide a estimate of how much it would cost the state to pay out benefits to employees in the FRS system while switching new state employees into a 401(k) - type plan was deemed incomplete because it didn t include costs associated with keeping the plan as is. Because of this, the reforms have been put on hold. We will keep you updated as things progress.

5 The The Broward Broward Centurion March 2013 From The Senior Vice President Debbie Reggio, Happy New Year to all. I would like to thank the Board of Directors for their vote of confidence in electing me as PBA senior vice president. For those who do not know, I will be filling the full release position left open by Immediate Past President Pat Hanrahan when he retired on December 28, as outlined in Article 9.8 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Broward Sheriff s Office. This will be my last term with the Broward County Police Benevolent Association, and I am looking forward to using the full release position to help my members and do more for them. My goal, as it has been for the past 12 years, is to serve our members, troubleshooting problems for the best results. My door will always be open to you, whom I serve. On January 23, I traveled to Tallahassee for the parole hearing of Donald Miller, one of the suspects involved in the death of Deputy Joseph Conti in This case is very close to my heart, and I have been at the hearings opposing early release for any of the suspects involved since I have been on the PBA Executive Board. I had the privilege of working in the Transportation Unit for the Department of Detention along side Deputy Barfield, who was Deputy Conti s partner on the day of his death. Deputy Barfield was never completely the same after losing a partner and a friend. Miller was up for parole and the examiner wanted to get him in the Lifer s Program, placing him on a biennial interview schedule. I want to thank Captain Callahan from the Department of Detention for traveling to Tallahassee and speaking against this with me. We successfully got the Commission to deny the interviewer s recommendations; the next hearing will be set for Miller will be released in 2022 after serving his complete sentence. As this New Year begins, I am looking forward to working with the new sheriff and his administration to increase morale and bring back cohesiveness to the Broward County Sheriff s Office. Please be safe out there, Debbie Reggio Senior Vice President Legal Activity Report January 28 - February 15, 2013 New Cases Opened 3 Cases Closed 23 Total Open Cases 215 5

6 The Broward Centurion March 2013 Letters & Thanks 6

7 The Broward Centurion March 2013 March Sheriff s Response To PBA Letter 7

8 The Broward Centurion March 2013 Good News Who couldn t use some? HOPE Fund Hero Troy Levy (center) of Fierce Fit presented the Broward County PBA HOPE Fund a check for $500. The money was raised during the recent Armageddon Ambush mud run. Thank you to Troy and everyone who participated. (Irish) Dancing Queen Congratulations to Megan O Connell, daughter of Wilton Manors Chief Paul O Connell, on winning first place in her division at the South Regional Irish Dance Championships held in New Orleans last fall. She will compete in the World Championships this month. Adh mor ort (Good luck), Megan! 8

9 The Broward Centurion March March

10 The Broward Centurion March 2013 Are You Up To Date? To update your personal information, please contact the PBA office Monday through Friday between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm at or stop by in person. What s Up? Births There s a baby boom in Hollywood! We have three beautiful new editions to the PBA family, all the sons and daughters of members from Hollywood: Officer Justin Leo and his wife, Michelle, welcomed daughter Emma Adrienne on January 15. Emma weighed in at 8 lbs. and was 20 inches long. Olivia Ramos and big brother Cameron Officer Ed Ramos and his wife, Hollywood Dispatcher Meghan, welcomed their second child, Olivia Alexandra, on January 24. She weighed 6 lbs., 10 oz. and was 18.5 inches long. Olivia joins big brother Cameron in the Ramos family. Detective Justin Schweighardt and his wife, Christina, welcomed son Brayden Marcus on January 26. Brayden weighed 6 lbs., 5 oz and was inches long. Congratulations, everyone! Prepaid Legal Services For Broward PBA Members Michael Braverman, P.A West State Road 84 Fort Lauderdale, FL / Hollywood Officer Of The Month Congratulations to Detective Sean Keough for being selected Officer of the Month for December Keep up the good work! 10

11 The Broward Centurion The Broward Centurion March 2013 Member Marketplace Open to Active PBA Members 11

12 Broward County Police Benevolent Association 2650 West State Road 84 Ft. Lauderdale, FL NONPROFIT ORG. U S POSTAGE PAID WEST PALM BEACH, FL PERMIT NO Broward County PBA