THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 8, 1996 TAG: 9609060155
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 07 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letters
LENGTH: 121 lines
A guestion of money
Recently, I read that Portsmouth City Manager Ron Massey has proposed a 20 percent pay raise for Sheriff Gary Waters. I can't help but wonder what kind of signal this is sending to the other employees of the city. How does this set with the chief of police or other department heads? After several years with no pay increases, the city employees just received a 2.6 percent pay increase.
Is Mr. Massey telling everyone that the sheriff is doing a ``10 times'' better job than everyone else working for the city? Being a member of the police department for 32 years, I am very familiar with the fiscal restraints that we had to work under. In this area nothing has changed. Basic equipment that police officers need to do their jobs has to be donated to the department because of lack of adequate funding. These donations come from the private sector. With this condition, how can the manager justify a 20 percent increase in any city employee's wages?
I have known the sheriff for 30 years. During his tenure as sheriff, he has done an outstanding job of bringing his department into the 20th century. However, his present salary is more than adequate when you compare it with other department heads within the city. I truly hope that Mr. Massey will rethink this recommendation as I believe this action would be the all-time ``morale buster'' for the other city employees that are doing an outstanding job serving the citizens of Portsmouth.
LeRoy Reynolds
Goose Bay Drive
Sept. 1, 1996
I've been a local street police officer for 25 years. I also own a business in Virginia. I've had contact, through my business, with hundreds of police officers and deputies. Any recent contact with Portsmouth deputies has been positive. Their high morale and great appreciation of Sheriff Waters is not surprising. He has done an excellent reorganization of the sheriff's office, saving the city of Portsmouth millions of dollars, taking over prisoner booking and arrest warrants, creating a cost-effective sheriff's office.
Sheriff Waters has not only earned his 20 percent pay raise, but our respect as well. If the city of Portsmouth is not careful and officials cannot put aside jurisdictional problems, they may loose Sheriff Waters to another city or state where he will probably get a 50 percent raise because of his accomplishments.
James M. Stewart
Norfolk
Sept. 5, 1996
I read in the paper that the sheriff of Portsmouth, Gary Waters, has been recommended by the city manager to receive a $15,000 raise as a reward for doing his job. What kind of underhanded political mess is the city manager trying to pull?
Mr. Waters is already eligible to receive two pensions when he retires as it is. What is he trying to do - get everybody else's pension, too?
I also read the comments made by Richard Journee, president of the Retired Police and Firefighters Association, and I must say that I support his comments 100 percent. I am sure that the Sheriff's Department has some very fine, hard-working personnel who deserve a raise more so than Mr. Waters, who is earning around $70,000 a year. I am sure this is far more than his employees are earning, and they are the ones that are doing the work out in the streets.
Mr. Waters is a politician who is very sharp on networking and making the right friends for future political considerations. I am glad to see that we now have cooler heads on the City Council who will not simply rubber stamp things simply because the city manager wants it. They are indeed correct in taking the time to study this proposed raise to see if it is warranted.
Mr. Waters is an elected official who, over the years, has made notable changes within the Sheriff's Department and one whom the voters in Portsmouth have been rubber stamping for the past 15 years. It seems that once a politician gets in office, you almost need a crowbar to get them out.
It is time for the citizens of Portsmouth to wake up and really examine who we, as voters, are putting in office. I am still one of the people who have not forgotten that under-the-table bonus paid to former City Manager V. Wayne Orton ($14,000).
We do not want another repeat of this situation. We all worked hard to throw out the old administration, and we look to the new one to give us honest government. I believe that Mayor Holley may have learned something since his last term in office. One thing that he must know by now is that the citizens of Portsmouth will stand for nothing less than honest government and good leadership.
Mayor Holley, at this point in time, I believe will provide us with these mentioned ideals, as he has my support in his efforts to set the example and clean up City Hall.
C.W. Catlett
Blanche Drive
Sept. 4, 1996 Litter is everywhere
I had hoped this was just a passing thing, a careless oversight, just a little negligence that would somehow take care of itself, but it hasn't - it seems to be getting worse.
I'm speaking of litter ... it's everywhere. It has gotten out of hand, and it's just a shame. I see it driving to work, to the mall, to the grocery store - it's in the streets, parking lots, on sidewalks and floating in our beautiful waterways.
Living on a busy street in Portsmouth as I do, every afternoon is the same when I return home from work - picking up the litter that has been tossed or wind blown into my front yard - usually cigarette butts and wrappers, drink bottles and cans and fast-food bags. Surely, anyone throwing out this litter has a trash can at home that could have been used. I have lived in Portsmouth most of my life and know this is a nice area, but what about others passing through - what kind of impression must we be making on them?
I can't speak for anyone else, but when I was a kid, my mom always made me pick up anything I had thrown on the ground or carelessly left where it didn't belong. She always said: ``What if everyone did that - what a mess it would be!'' She was right. And I'm sure this litter isn't just from careless children, but mostly from thoughtless adults.
Just the other evening, while walking my dog, a neighbor of mine tossed a Dunkin Donut coffee cup from her car into another neighbor's yard. This really surprised me because the neighbor tossing the cup has a picture-perfect house and yard and I'm sure would be upset if litter were carelessly thrown her way.
My point in all of this is - if everyone would start taking a little more responsibility for themselves, and have a little more respect for their own and other's property, our city's appearance, starting with our own neighborhoods, would certainly benefit.
S.E. Beagle
High Street
Aug. 27, 1996 by CNB