‘Political gamesmanship’: Merced law enforcement slams county supervisors | Opinion
Recently, Merced County Supervisor Daron McDaniel wrote an op-ed in this newspaper about pay raises for county sheriff’s deputies. While McDaniel appears to praise the idea of pay raises for deputies, the reality is that all five Merced County Supervisors continue to play Russian roulette with the safety and security of our residents. The fact is, Merced County has essentially the same number of patrol deputies covering the county today as we did in the ’60s and ’70s. Since that time, our population has exploded (170,000 in 1970 to more than 281,000 today), our crime challenges have grown and yet staffing has remained stagnant. Rather than improving the situation, the Board of Supervisors has been regressive and detrimental.
As members of the Merced County Law Enforcement Sergeant’s Association (MCLESA/Unit 30), we can speak to this firsthand: Our post-retirement benefits have been reduced; our post-retirement medical coverage has been reduced; our insurance costs have gone up; our pay remains uncompetitive, not only within our own county but compared to neighboring counties. And our benefits? They’re far worse than those of comparable agencies.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that when wages and benefits are uncompetitive, you can’t retain employees. That creates an environment where we’re just trying to keep the lights on. Yes, we occasionally retain someone simply because the work environment here is excellent, but that achievement is in spite of the board of supervisors — not because of it. Meanwhile, Merced supervisors pat themselves on the back and claim to be “champions of public safety” — usually every two years, right around election time. Here is what McDaniel doesn’t say: With every so-called “raise,” there’s often a significant increase in employee contributions to benefits. That cancels out the raise entirely. Unit 30 members are done engaging in political gamesmanship. It’s nauseating and has a striking resemblance to the worst of Washington, D.C. politics, where career politicians look out for their own interests at the expense of the people they serve. Term limits, anyone? The role of a local elected official was never meant to be a career steppingstone. It was meant for people who genuinely want to help their community — not for pay, not for recognition and certainly not as a platform for the next political move at the state or federal level. We do not support McDaniel or Merced County Supervisor Scott Silveira in their upcoming elections, and the remaining three Merced Supervisors should not feel confident about 2028 either. We will continue to give the residents of Merced County the best service possible — even if the Board of Supervisors refuses to give us the tools to do it.
Kevin Blake and George Sziraki are members of the Merced County Law Enforcement Sergeant’s Association (MCLESA/Unit 30). This op-ed was written on behalf of and with the support of Unit 30.