Ask CCPOA, where’s almost $1 million of union members money?

BY Linda Sutter – March 8, 2017 –

In a confidential draft for proposed budget for the year 2017-2018, the President of California Correctional Peace Officer Association (CCPOA), Chuck Alexander, emphasized the draft budget was not to be copied or shared until ratified by the State Board of Directors who are the following people:

Chuck Alexander    President of CCPOA           $133,348.43 benefits included

Kurt Stoetzl              Vice President CCPOA       $136,075.90 Benefits included

Chuck Helton           V.P Rank and File CCPOA $ could not locate

Darryl Lee                 Rank and file Youth Div.   $could not locate

Keith Bennett          Supervisory V.P                  $156,094.99 Benefits included

Jim Martin                State Treasurer                   $119,976.23 Benefits included

Discrepancy #1, Page 10 pertaining to Working Union Members:

Katrina L. Salazar, is the CPA and Controller for the CCPOA.  Her figures don’t add up.  Let’s go over them and point out the discrepancies:

REVENUES:

DUES:  $90.70/month times 12 months = $1,088.40.  Multiply that 28,250 members and that equals $30,747,300.  Add dues from retirees at $3/month x 12 months = $36/year times 11,500 members – $414,000.  Add 30,747,300 plus $414,000 and that equals $31,161,300.  The difference from $31,152,300 is $9,000.  WHY?

Are the State Board of Directors the foxes minding the hen house that spends an estimated $31,152,300 (or $31,161,300) per year not including the $966,000 that CCPOA appears to be pocketing and showing absolutely no accounting for.  How did we manage to come up with a $966,000 discrepancy?  Look over discrepancy number 2.

Discrepancy #2, the difference of $966,000

Retirees don’t pay $3 per month.  They pay $10 per month.  Let’s do the math:  $10/per month times 12 months equals $120.  $120 times 11,500 retirees = $1,380,000.  Subtract $1,380,000 from $414,000 and that equals $966,000.

Is there any accounting for that money?????  A message was left to go over the budget on Katrina Salazar’s voice mail this morning about 9 am to please call Crescent City Times and there was no call back.

The CCPOA is planning to spend $2,796,750 on Political Action Committees (PAC). The calculation for that is 28,250 times 12 months times $8.25/month.

This Year’s Convention is well noted on the proposed Budget for 2017-2018

Travel Tickets for Executive Committee members, listed above include Chapter Presidents and their spouses (90) total. Committee members and staff. Formula is 117 persons times $500.00 equals 58,500.00.

Per Diem ($64.00) for Chapter Presidents (43) Committee members and staff, an average stay of 4 nights which is 4 days of per diem, counting half day on either end for travel. This amounts to $256.00 times 62 people for grand total of $15,872.00.

Per Diem for Delegates ($150.00 Per Person) There are 44 Chapters times 9 Delegates which equals to 396 times 150.00 for a grand total of $59,400.00.

Sleeping Rooms ($130.00 a night including taxes) Based on everyone outlined in “per diem” above, 70 will stay an average of 4 nights (280 times 130.00 equals $36, 400.00. 396 delegates will stay 3 nights (1,188 times $130.00) equals $154,440.00.

Total Price for sleeping rooms $190,840.00.

For a total of 466 people who CCPOA will pay for at this August 1^st– 3^rd convention this year it will cost the following for services:

Board Meeting Luncheon $8,000 this is for 466 people  $17.00 per plate for lunch

Board Meeting Coffee Break $5,000 for 466 equals $10.72 per cup coffee

Convention Coffee Service for two days $50,000 for 466 people $107.29 per person for two days of coffee.

Convention Evening Program$130,000 for 466 people equals $279.00 per person for entertainment.

Convention Banquet Event is $130,000 for 466 people $279.00 per person.

Total Catering Cost $363,000 for 466 people.

Meeting Enhancements $200,000 for 466 people $429.00 per person

There are production cost, printing cost, exhibit hall setup, security, and registration name badges.

Total cost for this year’s convention $1,140,000.

The money getting spent on this lavish convention could have been better spent on reducing the price of medical benefits for Correctional staff and families as well as retirees. There appears to be no integrity whatsoever that CCPOA harbors and mandates paying Union Dues but refuses to allow the members to know what their hard earned dollars are going for. In fact, the CCPOA is spending more on the convention then on the Legal Defense of Correctional Officers. The proposed legal defense fund comes in at $949,200.

The Piggy Back insurance has gone up between $26.00 to $32.00 per month. Medical Insurance for retirees shot up from $125.00 to $175.00 per month.

Taking money from Correctional Officers and their families and spending it on lavish meals and parties is not what the Officers who put their lives on the line signed up for.

Just last Saturday while attending a retired Chapter meeting which lasted only 3.5 hours CCPOA took every member, approximately 30 people, and bought dinner at the Malabar located off Del Paso Road in Sacramento including drinks. Again off the backs of CCPOA members. This is a common practice that occurs monthly at chapter meetings.

My observation of the Retired Chapter meeting was there was no public comment.  Members voices were not being heard.  There’s no communication among the Board Members and the President.  There were approximately 30 people there that wanted to have public comment and it wasn’t even offered.  The  complaints about the Board President are that he doesn’t return telephone calls even to the Board Members and he’s not computer literate and there’s no communication among the Board Members and the President.

Officer Serrano, a retired officer from Mule Creek, remembers in the year 2005 where he was asked to sit in during Negotiations for the EOP unit said;

“We spent the first three hours looking for papers and pencils and talking about nothing in regards to what positions were needed for the EOP UNIT(enhanced outpatient unit).  At noon the CCPOA took everybody to Chevy’s restaurant located on the river in Sacramento. After lunch we were told to go home and come back the next day.  The next day was spent the same way, and on Friday, CCPOA ordered catering service from a Chinese restaurant. I felt embarrassed that nothing was accomplished and we wasted State time and money resource to sit around and eat without any professional commitment.”

Officer Serrano stated he has seen this throughout his entire 27 year career.

I know this happens on a regular basis, and on a larger level among all government agencies, and entities on a small or large scale. I believe that is why our country is in such enormous debt. But, it doesn’t make it right, and something must be done to stop the continued erosion.