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Written by Mark Nichols
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In Wisconsin, the state's legal and financial community wants to help first responders plan for their futures in those professions where the future is not always certain.
The "Wills for Heroes" program offers estate planning free of charge for first responders throughout the state, including police officers, firefighters, paramedics and EMTs.
It was created by the State Bar of Wisconsin's pro bono program, in partnership with Foley & Lardner LLP, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, LexisNexis and the State Bar Young Lawyers Division.
A pilot legal clinic was held in Milwaukee last month where members of the Milwaukee Police and Fire Departments and their spouses and partners received assistance in creating wills, financial powers of attorney, health care powers of attorney and living wills.
"Our police and firefighters are always serving the community and doing good things for them; this program allows the community to do something for our public servants," said Mike Tobin, executive director of the City of Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission. "The pilot program was very successful and we are proud to help make this a statewide program for all first responders," he added.
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Written by APB Staff
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In Tampa, Florida, the city council recently voted 5-1 to suspend step plan increases for the roughly 500 police officers that are eligible. The council also voted to accept Mayor Pam Iorio's plan to force 65 officers who have received raises since the beginning of the fiscal year to pay back the money.
Five dollars will be deducted from the paychecks of those 65 officers until the raises are "paid back."
The decision outraged police union officials who attended the meeting.
"If they do that, I can assure you we will file an unfair labor practice," Greg Stout, president of the Tampa Police Benevolent Association told reporters from the Associated Press. "I don't care if it's a dollar a month. Our hardworking police officers deserve that money."
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Written by APB Staff
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In Massachusetts, the state's highest court has ruled that Boston failed to bargain in good faith with the city police union when it changed how it pays overtime to officers back in 2002. According to an article by Boston Globe reporter Maria Cramer, the ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court rejected the city's argument.
That argument was basically that federal law allows municipalities to pay overtime only after officers have worked more than 171 hours in 28 days, instead of more than 40 hours over seven days. The ruling means the city will owe hundreds of officers hundreds of thousands of dollars in overtime.
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Written by APB Staff
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A recent posting by POLICEPAY.NET, one of the nation’s leading contract negotiations and arbitration teams, and which is headquartered in Norman, Oklahoma, included the following stories. There’s no longer any doubt that the recession is having a severe impact on local law enforcement. Police sound staffing alarm. By Christian Burkin (The Stockton Record) “Not long ago the Stockton Police Department in California couldn’t hire fast enough to satisfy the city’s appetite for police, but last week it was forced by a shrinking budget to lay off four academy trainees who were about a month from graduating and joining the ranks.
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Written by Mark Nichols
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If you're sick of hearing about Wall St. versus Main St., then get in line. The kicker is, it's going to get worse, a lot worse, before it gets any better. Atlanta, Georgia was until very recently a shining beacon of commercial development, with low rates of unemployment, and large numbers of young, skilled workers wishing to move there.
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Written by Patrick J. Lynch
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Today is a time of almost unprecedented fiscal austerity, which makes it an even more remarkable achievement than it seemed in August when our union representing 24,000 New York City patrol officers, reached a contract agreement with the city. It was the first contract achieved across the bargaining table since the 1991-95 round.
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Written by APB Staff
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If Omaha City officials get their wishes, a state labor court would draw up a police contract that would dramatically alter officers' pay and benefits, affecting both working and retired cops alike. Under the proposed changes, it could take as many six years longer for officers to reach the highest pay scale than under the current plan. But that's just the beginning. Health benefits could vanish for officers who retire under the new contract and pensions might be calculated to exclude wages earned from overtime, comp time or holiday pay. Witnesses for the city mentioned all those possibilities on the first day of testimony in state labor court.
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Written by POLICEPAY Journal
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October, 2008
Social Security is rigged against public safety employees. Most police officers and firefighters are not covered by Social Security. I will not take the time to explain why there is not uniformity. Everyone is covered by Medicare. What we will be discussing is the 6.2% portion of FICA that is withheld from an employee’s paycheck and is matched by the employer.
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Written by NAPO
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Submitted by NAPO, National Association of Police Organizations October 2008
Last year, the IRS, in response to several press articles on struggling public sector pension plans, decided governmental plans needed additional federal oversight and it would significantly increase audits of these defined benefit plans. NAPO and several other public pension stakeholder organizations took issue with the IRS’s plan to increase audits on public pension plans and its reasoning for doing so.
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Written by APB Staff
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In some parts of the country there is a tremendous debate about the loss of jobs of certified peace officers as the result of the trend of smaller communities contracting out police services to other agencies or private contractors. But in Harris County Texas, deputies are wearing both hats – county law enforcement professional and “contract deputy.”
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