The Virginian-Pilot
©
PORTSMOUTH
Sheriff Bill Watson informed city officials Wednesday that he may suspend some services that his inmates provide the city because officials have yet to respond to his demand for a raise for his deputies.
Watson sent an e-mail to City Manager Kenneth Chandler, several City Council members and a city department head informing them that he had talked to staff members about the possibility of shutting down the city's inmate work crews on Monday.
"At this moment I have not received any word, in writing, from City Council of their intentions " about a pay increase, the e-mail states.
The note follows up on a comment Watson made at a Dec. 16 council meeting.
Council members that night affirmed their intention to provide a $2.3 million public safety retention plan in the upcoming budget year, which begins July 1. Their aim is to bring police officers' and firefighters' salaries up to the region's average.
While Watson commended raises for police and firefighters, he told council members they had until Wednesday to agree to improve deputies' pay or the sheriff's office would stop providing the $5 million in services he said his office provides the city for free.
Vice Mayor Bill Moody Jr. pointed out that the recommendations for the public safety retention plan were the result of a consultant's study of public safety salaries across the region. By contrast, he said, a raise for deputies would result from "being bullied."
Moody said he thought the work crews provide good therapy for the inmates and benefit citizens as well. "I hate to see their services used as leverage to try and get higher salaries for deputies," Moody said.
Watson did not return a call for comment to his cell phone Wednesday evening. His spokeswoman, Lt. Karin Johnson, said Watson was not threatening the council.
But she said Watson's department is facing state cuts and has been informed that the city manager's office would like to reduce the department's budget in the upcoming budget year.
Meanwhile, the department also has faced rising food and medical costs at the jail.
Further, Watson is determined not to cut back on services to residents, Johnson said.
About 45 inmates provide services such as picking up trash, repairing and washing city vehicles, and moving office furniture as part of the City Jail's work crew, Johnson said.
But the jail is understaffed, she said, and the sheriff might have to move deputies into those positions.
Moody said the sheriff's deputies are state, not city, employees such as the police and firefighters. The city does provide some supplemental funding to the sheriff's office, however.
Moody anticipated that city officials will discuss the pay issue with the sheriff as a personnel matter.
Councilman Charles B. Whitehurst Sr. said Wednesday evening he had not seen the e-mail yet and declined to comment.
Jen McCaffery, (757) 446-2627, jen.mccaffery@pilotonline.com
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deb
Dont I know it...and flattery will get you no where...except maybe a cushy job with the Sheriffs Office...remember folks...dont believe the bunk, vote for Funk.
The sherrif has got backbone
At least the sherrif has a backbone and will stand up to City Council. The Police dept has been stuck with JELLYFISH for chiefs. They will not stand up for their people for nothing. The only hope was Corvello who left the PPD. Now PPD is stuck with more weak people leading the dept. The only thing that helped PPD was the FOP and PBA. I think Bill should stick it to the city and make them pay for everything. Go Bill Watson Go!!!! The city council is crooked and it is about time someone stood up to them.
Well Id say its a little bit of both...
If the Sheriff wants some of his deputies to act as police then thats fine but a deputy in the jail, serving civil papers or standing in the court room should not make what an officer makes on the street or fireman makes fighting a fire. Maybe the Sheriff or city could supplement the street deputies but thats about it. If the Sheriffs supporters doesnt want it too look like its them vs the police then the Sheriff should not make it seem that hes trying to sabotage a raise the PD/FD has waited for over the past 15 years. As far as the other city employees go...a garbage man with 10 years of experience should not make what a 10 year Fire Fighter or Police Officer makes, not PC but true. Personally I like the Sheriff and think its a riot when he tells City Hall how it is in the real world. But that doesnt make all his actions right. As far as launching Det. Funkhousers campaign goes...he personally knew nothing about that...being that I know him Im hoping for a cushy job in the Sheriffs Office when he makes it...Harsh? Yes....PC? Absolutely not...Remember P-town citizens..."Dont believe the bunk, vote for Funk"
Deputies pay
Please, please stop the Police vs. Sheriff tone. Also, I know Mr. Funkhouser to be a good man, but is this a discussion about the city doing right by the deputies or launching Mr. Funkhouser's campaign? The city government will not help any of its employees without being forced to. I have heard they are telling other departments to plan on furlows so they can pay the Police/Fire, if this is true theyu are trying again to devide and conquer and when the other employees complain your raise will have to be somehow postponed. After all, isn't this what Sheriff Watson is saying the city has been doing to him and I remember Gary Waters saying the same time when he was there too?
don't forget
Our biggest problem is Lucas, Melvin, City Council, and bogus tax assessments.
And another thing!
If Doug Funkhouser should decide to run for sheriff he has my vote! He is an experienced officer and investigator and has the best interests of Portsmouth citizens at heart. It is my understanding that he poured his heart and soul into the Meghan Landowski murder but knowing him like I do- if you ask him he'll say it was a collaborative team effort. There is no "I" in Doug Funkhouser. If you want someone experienced in both the operations of the sheriff's department AND the police department, and someone who is going to put the needs of Portsmouth's citizens before his own ego, vote Doug Funkhouser for sheriff!
Just my 2 cents worth....
Having worked for the PPD for just shy of 20 years and having working with deputies that moved over to the PD or stayed with the PSO I feel I'm qualified to put in my 2 cents worth. The majority of the deputies at the PSO are hard working and underpaid men and women. There are those that kiss butt to keep their jobs come post election time but the ones on the lower rungs of the ladder have law enforcement in their blood and just because their uniforms are brown doesn't mean they don't bleed blue. If a deputy has made the effort to complete the necessary requirements to be DCJS certified in Basic Law Enforcement more power to him/her! At the end of the day, as long as the bad guys go to jail and the rules of law and evidence are followed, who cares whether it was a brown or blue shirt that put them there?
One more thing...
Back in 2003 I was on a committee of transportation companies involved with Medicaid. A local ambulance service manager was on the committee too. We were talking about our mutual Watson problems when he told me that Watson had trumped up a complaint about his crew having sex in the back of an ambulance with a patient. It was reported at the time on WVEC news. A full state investigation was prompted and the complaint was found to be baseless. Not only that but someone actually admitted to the investigator that the whole thing was trumped up. Should take nothing more than a simple FOIA request to confirm the contents of the investigation. He played me a tape recording and I am 99.99% sure it was Watson ( if you have ever spoken to him you know he has a very unique voice ). The tape was a threat to the state about them acting on the complaint and even stated that he was going to " bring the ambulance service down " he then says if you want to play hardball I will play hard ball. To my knowledge the manager has the tape to this day...check it out Pilot...should be interesting.
Is Watson stiill at this???
I was reading thru the comments and had to laugh when I read one posted by ptownmaggie. About Watson chasing ambulances. Years ago I worked for a wheel chair transport service in Suffolk. Watson owned a competing company called Eastern Medical Transport. He was forever filing complaints about the state decals we had, or that the tags we had were not correct or that we were in cahoots with the transportation broker or the state office of EMS. He would video tape EMS inspections for proof of the conspiracy even! And yes even back then he would use his little Sheriffs Harley to pull over our vans and the ambulances of his competitors. He did this while in the auxiliary and as a deputy in Portsmouth and again as a deputy in Isle of Wight county. I was pulled over one day by Watson who held us for not having a hire tag on our vehicle ( it was not required on this vehicle). He called for a PPD officer to come and cite us. We waited for over an hour and finally one showed up and let us go. In talking to others in wheelchair transport and the ambulance services it was well known that Watson would run around doing this. I know that complaints were filed and it might have led to his dismissa
HRRJ
The city has asked for the Sheriff's support in revitalizing the waterfront by supporting the expansion of the Hampton Roads Regional Jail in Portsmouth and moving it's prisoners there. The Sheriff has steadfastly refused. Perhaps he should reexamine that decision. Not having to provide services to the prisoners at the city jail would free up plenty of funds for his officer's raises.