Via Delegate Smiegel’s website, the FOP responded to the Cecil County Commissioners “news brief” posted on www.ccgov.org about the issue of collective bargaining with binding arbitration for deputy Sheriffs.

The Cecil County Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 2 would like to take this opportunity to respond and address issues the county commissioners raised in their recent opinion entitled, Some Facts About Collective Bargaining With Interest Arbitration For Deputy Sheriffs, found on the county website at www.ccgov.org.

You can read the entire response at Delegate Smigiel’s website, but I have to point out this very important paragraph:

This was born over many years of neglect by the county as to what their number one priority should be: protecting its citizens. This goes way beyond inadequate pay and benefits and straight to the heart of the issue: with very few exceptions, the county has consistently viewed the sheriff’s office as a necessary evil and has funded it as such. In a county such as ours, it is outrageous that only 6 or 7 deputies per shift are expected to adequately patrol the county and keep bad guys at bay. The Town of Elkton has almost that many covering their town because they get it – is your family’s safety any less important?

If we’re not aggressively pursuing more police coverage when violent crime goes up EACH YEAR, then are we at least going to invest in the deputies we do have? The county’s answer is, apparently, no.

Last year, when the County Commissioners told me the reason for my tax increase was because of the “essential services” the county needed to provide, I naively assumed this was one of those “essential” services worthy of a tax increase.

But, evidently, this is not the case. Read it for yourself and you decide if the Commissioners are spending YOUR hard earned money on what is truly important? Pet projects, or good pay for the police officers that keep up safe? You decide.