Baltimore cops and take-home cars
Many jobs come with perks, and for city employees, one of the most sought-after is getting a car to take home. It is an expense that some on the City Council are trying to curb, and one that lawmakers and officials have for years complained about, as Anne Linskey's story points out today.
She got the list of positions, mileage and fuel costs, which doesn't tell the entire story because it is for trips back and forth between the homes of these city officials and their work. The agency with the most take-home cars -- either the biggest abuser or the biggest benefactor, depending on your perspective: city police (even though they've reduced their number by 40 since last year).
And most cops don't live in Baltimore, so we're talking some grand commutes here. The calculations are based on mileage from a home address to Baltimore and Charles streets, each way, for 22 work days a month.
It's quite telling to learn how many police and civilian police officials that rate high enough to have take-home cars, costing taxpayers an estimated $262,138 a year, live outside the city. In fact, only 18 cops live in Baltimore; 105 live outside the city, 22 more live in Pennsylvania and one each in Virginia and Delaware.
The department's chief spokesman lives in Alexandria, Va. One commander lives in Dover, Del (an estimated commute of 174 miles that cost an estimated $,454 a year). Detectives in Internal Affairs commute from the city and points beyond.
The question is whether the take-home cars are a perk or a necessity. The police spokesman defended it as a necessity in Annie Linskey's story saying commanders need to respond quickly to emergencies and inquires from their bosses. Surely, a district commander needs a car. But how many times does the technical services chief for the communications section of the Administrative Division have to speed to an emergency from home? (Ok, when 911 goes down, I want it fixed fast, but that's got to be such a rare occurrance that I'd gladly pay extra for him to use his personal car). Does the major in charge of administration have to have a take-home car?
This was an issue back when Martin O'Malley first took over City Hall and many commanders lost their department vehicles. Back then, the mayor, not a City Councilman, was doing the culling, so cops and others were tripping over themselves to give up their cars. And then-Commissioner Edward T. Norris pulled the car from the car from the director of planning and research. "He's a daytime guy," the chief said.
Other suburban agencies, such as Anne Arundel, Montgomery and Prince George's give all officers vehicles to take home, though some restrict it to officers who live in the jurisdiction or require that the cars never leave the county. It's a perk some departments can afford, and neighbors love it to see a marked cruiser parked on the street or in a driveway.
Baltimore cannot afford such luxury, and with so many cops living outside the city lines, it wouldn't make much sense. Patrol cars are recycled shift after shift, most going 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
And who can forget back in 2001 when a dispute over a take-home car embroiled the police department, led to the deputy police commissioner conducting an unauthorized sting on a police major that involved using a pass key to take his car from his driveway and call a stolen car report into the Maryland State Police. It cost several jobs.
This issue is nothing new:
Back in 2000, the city's new mayor, Martin O'Malley, went on a tear to get agencies to give up unnecessary take-home cars. I remember that even his aides had trouble convincing department heads to come clean.
When they did, they reduced take-home police cars from 133 to 72 (it's now back to 148) and Public Works from 61 to 29. O'Malley complained that the cars had become less a perk and seen more a "contractual perk." The city sold off its eight-passenger golf cart, a robin's-egg-blue 1967 Cadillac DeVille parade convertible and an 18-passenger van.
Back then, Sean Malone, then the police department's chief legal counsel, turned down keys to a 1998 Chevrolet Cavalier, even though he need to drive to Annapolis on some days to handle appeals. "I don't respond to emergencies," he told me then.
The major of planning in research had to give up his 2000 Chevy Lumina -- "he's a daytime guy," the commissioner said then -- and I was glad to see that the position is not on this new list.
Of course, it's not only cops who get take-home cars. The Fire Department has 30; nine for fire officals who live in the city. The longest commute belongs to the Homeland Security chief, 154.8 miles back and forth from Caroline County. The Sheriff's Departmenthas 39 take-home cars, 31 for deputies who live in the city and eight who live in Baltimore County.
Other agencies have a total 29 take-home cars combined; the longest commute in that category belongs to a public works official in the waste-water department, who drives a 2007 Chevrolet Trailblazer 112.4 miles round-trip to Charles County.
Comments
What about city officials and their take home cars? Why is the Governor in Bosnia, Sweden, and Europe for reasons he does not need to be there right now? He has the state a financial mess! Why do I see BGE marked vans and cars and marked city fire department vehicles in PA all of the time? I know they live in PA because you will see thir vehicles parked at the same residential homes every day. Get your facts straight! Stop using the cops as the huge oh no in all of your articles. The cops' bills do not even closely add up to the Governor's for this month alone!!
Posted by: Hmmm | June 10, 2009 8:19 AM
FYI: for the previous commenter (Hmmm) BGE is a private company not a city/county or state agency.
Posted by: paul | June 10, 2009 9:42 AM
Wow, the guy who's job is
overseeing crime coverage" writes about the police. That's a surprise.
Posted by: Anonymous | June 10, 2009 12:04 PM
I don't get it... If how can "commanders respond quickly to emergencies and inquires from their bosses" when they live over 100 miles from their jobs?!
The issue of Baltimore city police living a long commute from their work is bigger than simply the amount of money it costs tax payers for gas. How effective do you think police are that don't even live in the same STATE as the jurisdiction that they are policing? How well do they really know and understand the neighborhoods? How much do you think they really CARE about the neighborhoods?
We can't realistically expect our police to make an impact in communities in the city if they don't live anywhere around the city and only see it as a source of revenue that they can use to fund their lives far far away from that city. Baltimore police have a NIMBY attitude towards crime, but unfortunately their back yard is about 50 miles outside of city lines.
Baltimore needs to wake up and implement a new policy for police limiting where they can live, quite like NYC and Chicago have been doing for years. Grandfather in the existing officers, but for future graduating academy classes REQUIRE that they live within the beltway if not the city proper (NYC police MUST live in NYC, as is required by Chicago). The way I look at it, this creates a win-win situation for the city, they get an increased tax base AND safer neighborhoods due to increased police presence.
Posted by: Joe D | June 10, 2009 12:51 PM
As a police officer, I can understand that citizens and council people want the people that police the city to live in the city. I lived in the city when I started over 20 years ago, but moved when my son was born. Now I know this point is not going to go over well with a lot of people, but forgive me if I wanted the best possible education for my son. There is no way that my wife and I could afford to send our son to private school, so I moved to the county. Do I believe that there is truth to the post about the benefits of police living in the area they police? I absolutely think there is a large amount of truth to that, but forgive me if I refuse to send my son to the same failed institutions that have turned out generations upon generations of kids whose diplomas are not worth the paper they're written on. I have sacrificed so much lost time with my family working shifts and holidays and going to court and everything else that comes with the job. I refuse to make my son a victim of my bad decision to police in a city that constantly asks it's police to sacrifice so much for so little in return. And keep this in mind if there were so many people wanting to take the thankless, underpaid (compared to every other jurisdiction) job, they would not have to hire people from outside the city and state.
Posted by: TEB | June 10, 2009 2:19 PM
i understand the plight of the officer trying to send a child through education in the city of baltimore. public education here is almost criminal. but-what stake does any public servant, from police spokesmen to fire official or school teacher, have when they dont live within the jurisdiction they serve? i have a stake in my block, my neighborhood and this town. the more people who have a stake in this town and not simply a paycheck, the better off this town will be.
the cops in this town bust their butts. no beef there. this story is just an example of the trust with the public which needs to be managed better. if you're a prosecutor or city sanitation, you should live here. why: because you make decisions based on the fact that it is your community, that it belongs to you. peace,
Posted by: emmet | June 10, 2009 3:43 PM
I agree with TEB. There has to be an incentive for police to live in the city such as a scholarship fund or tuition reimbursements. If it is just a requirement then everyone will find a way around it.
Posted by: Ted | June 10, 2009 3:55 PM
If you don't live in the city then what interest do you have in the place once your shift is up? That goes for workers at any company really.
Culturally, we have a metropolitan area, but when it comes down to tax paying, who is paying for certain expenditures for workers who travel between different parts of the metro area? Baltimore City taxpayers?
Posted by: tom brown of baltimore | June 10, 2009 4:15 PM
not to get off topic, but I don't hear any talk about parting ways with the Commissioner. I have to say the morale in the department right now nonexistent, patrol is decimated, the CEO of Mariner Bank says he does not see as many officers anymore downtown, no kidding citizens in the city never see uniformed officers anymore all we have now are plainclothes storm troopers, patrol is nothing but a shell of what it used to be, and as long as the current commissioner is in place you never will see uniformed officers in your community.
Posted by: TEB | June 10, 2009 6:24 PM
Where you want your child to go to school is your business and your responsibility. I agree as a parent you wan the best education possible, sometimes you may have to more or pay for it. But, out of state police officers should not be allowed to drive their cars home. Period. Just for simple economics. As an employer, you have the right to decide what benefits are given to your employees and this is an unnecessary expense that doesn't benefit the city. If perspective new hires want to not apply because of this, then so be it. And if old hires, don't agree then find another job. Sometimes it's about taking a pay cut verses having no job at all. Join those of us who have to pay our own job related expenses while taking getting a pay cut to keep the company afloat all the while paying out taxes so you can get your extra benefit.
Posted by: lee of balto | June 11, 2009 1:37 AM
TEBH-i am sorry you feel the way you do. its simply not supposed to be this way. living here, as a citizen, is a purgatory. police are representatives of what we, the public, want this society to be. i have asked my district to place officers on a pedestrian beat-and they give the same old 911 response. and the same cycle you explained is repeated. if you feel the press is coming down hard on your agency, please remember how many folks in this town appreciate your work. its not up to you to put the fun back in dysfunctional families. close the gap which allows parents to create kids who know they will either be killed or go to prison, and everyones life gets better. i hope the pride of this city will return when leaders decide that there is no room for error in this realm. peace,
Posted by: emmet | June 11, 2009 8:14 AM