Let me get this straight.....The deputies are required to drive their car home in case they are called out for an unannounced sheriff's office emergency in the middle of the night.....and then the cookin' sheriff is charging the deputy $100 for fuel to drive the car home?????????????????
Please.... will somebody do something about this guy! Is their any type of legal action these poor deputies can take against this guy without getting fired? I may be wrong but how can an employer take any type of $$$$ out of someone's paycheck without prior approval from the employee? If I was a deputy, and I'm having to pay money for fuel to patrol the streets....Then I would use the car to go buy groceries, get a haircut, Dr. Appt's , etc...
The ability for a law enforcement officer to take a car home (this does include trips to the store, etc.) is called the Indianapolis Plan. It allows this use of vehicles to take place.
Early on, starting with Bill Imfeld, this topic came up, as several WCSO employees were taking County cars (marked and unmarked) home,... to Alabama. One, a Captain, drives about 75 miles each way to the office. Questions came up about insurance and other concerns as it is not normal for an officer who lives out of the County, let alone the State, to take County Vehicles home. (Now, add in the economic times with gas, and you have a real issue).
This was a campaign issue right from the start. Many law enforcement agencies tackled this problem head on, starting in late 2007, by issuing a "fee" to those who CHOOSE to take their vehicles home. This fee was designed to "off set" the extra expense due to wear and tear, gas prices, etc.
The big difference here is that RJ's fee, as I have been directly told by those affected, is NOT an OPTION. You work for the SO, you will pay the fee. Many officers wanted to leave vehicles at the station and commute to work. This is very common in large cities where departements have multiple (three or more) shifts and one car per shift. Officers pass the car along after their shifts. With our large expanse of area to patrol, this is not feasable.
RJ is
mandating all pay the fee. This is wrong and unjust (criminal?).
If it was done correctly, why should an officer who lives five minutes from the substation pay the same as the Captain who drives over 75 miles because she chooses to live in Alabama and not the State or County where she works?
The administration is out of control and they have no regard or concern for the citizens of Walton County, nor their feet on the street employees. This is a disgrace. I have heard he (RJ) has made threats to fire those who do not pay.
w