Jumpline magazine Q1 2023 - Flipbook - Page 8
8
1403 Officers
Paul D Blake, Ret.
Treasurer
TREA$URER’$ Report
Random thoughts from the Treasurer
Happy New Year!! I am
happy to report that I will continue to serve as your Treasurer, as I was re-elected by
acclamation. What does that
really mean? It means I went
unopposed. So, what does
that mean? Either I am doing
a good job, or I have a ‘sucky’
job; one that nobody wants. I prefer to think that I am doing an
excellent job.
When members are unhappy with our union, I am the first
to see it. Whether it is a reduction or cancellation of their voluntary contributions, be it our Political Action Committee (PAC)
or Firefighter Charities (Charities). I don’t know why, but I take
such cancellations personally. Maybe it is because when I had
deductions from my paycheck, I chose to give to our PAC and
Charities. My many years of involvement in this Local have
shown me how important these deductions are, not just for the
union but for our membership and their families.
Union dues cannot be used for political races. This is the purpose of a PAC. The PAC is voluntary. We use it to make donations to candidates (people running for office) and campaigns
(issues that would appear on a ballot). Our PAC is a state PAC.
We can donate to any race within the State of Florida – state,
county, municipal (city, town, village). It is not a federal PAC,
meaning we do not get involved in federal races. The e-board
also recently passed a motion that we do not post federal races
on our social media sites. This has to with our Local, not the
organizations we are affiliated with such as the South Florida
Council or the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF).
As for our PAC, we typically do not get involved in municipal
races. This is because those races do not directly impact us.
We also don’t have the time to screen every candidate. Getting
involved could potentially backfire. The exception of course is
when a current politician (incumbent) has been an outspoken
supporter for us. The other exception is when the person(s) running has been critical of us. We get involved in County Commission races because they have a direct impact on us. An incumbent will get our endorsement. Unless, of course, the incumbent
has not been supportive of us and has a legitimate challenger.
When there are not enough members to help with elections,
the PAC engages consultants who provide poll workers. This
costs money. The PAC also gets involved in state races. Considering our retirement system is controlled by the Florida legislature, we donate to races statewide. This costs money as well.
The PAC is limited to donate $1,000 per candidates, unless the
candidate holds a statewide office (such as the governor) in
which case we can donate up to $3,000. We also give to Electioneering Communication Organizations (ECO), where there is
no limit. Every candidate has one and the biggest restriction is
that the ECOs cannot say “vote for” the candidate.
If you have been actively reading, you will see “this costs
money” mentioned a couple of times in my last paragraph. If
I could have said it more, I would. To be a player in the polit-
ical game, it takes money. Like “Show me the money!” That
having been said, out of 2,170 active members, 1,327 (61%),
voluntarily contribute to our PAC. As the saying goes, “It is what
it is”. You can either make this up by donating to the PAC or
getting involved when we ask for your assistance. Changing the
retirement system to a 25-year retirement or reinstatement of a
COLA or even an eight-year DROP doesn’t (snap your fingers)
just happen. It happens because of relationships and financial
investment. We hope to have one or both from you!
Our PAC reports are public record and can be found in the
Florida Division of Elections’ website:. https://dos.elections.myflorida.com/committees/ Once you have accessed the website,
type “Dade County Fire Fighters.” (Fire Fighters is two words in
this instance) if you want to take a look.
Our Dade County Association of Firefighters Charities
(DCAFFC) is tried and true. It is a recognized 501(c)(3). When
I think of brotherhood, contributing to DCAFFC is the best way
to show it. Charities helps our own as well as their families. We
do not publish the recipients of Charities donations out of the
respect for privacy. Just know, that if one of our own is having
an issue and we are aware, Charities is involved, be it providing
meals, groceries, or other forms of assistance. Charities minutes are published so you know the organizations and/or causes we are supporting.
The Superbowl Watch Party is the biggest source of revenue
for Charities. Kudos to those (back in the day) that set up this
event and the prizes. It used to be a motorcycle or vehicle that
was the grand prize. That was changed to monetary prizes. If
you donate $10 per pay period to Charities, you are issued a
ticket to the raffle for prizes, as well as an admission ticket to the
party. There are only 800 tickets available. When you donate
to Charities, your donation covers the raffle ticket for that current year. You are not paying for a ticket for the following year.
The cost of the ticket is $150, and you would have to remain a
member of Charities for 15 pay periods, or through July. You
could choose to cancel the deduction after 15 pay periods, but
then you would not be eligible for the upcoming year. Currently,
690 tickets are set aside for members who donate $10 per pay
period. While ticket costs are $150, there is a limited amount.
Gil Velasquez and his team have been doing a stellar job signing members up at $10 per pay period. Whatever remains will
be available for sale, but there will probably be a raffle for the
remaining tickets.
Welcome aboard Class 151, who will be coming out to the
field in March. Once again, we have 100% enrollment into our
Union. We also have ten new members to Charities at the $10
per pay period level, so that’s ten less tickets available for the
raffle.
Next year’s retirement party (for 2022 retirees) will be one of
the largest we’ve had in a while (75 members). Congratulations
to all of them for their many years of service. Speaking of retirees, dues this year are $108. Letters have been sent. We are
sending them out later than normal because the checks do not
get deposited until after the first of the year.
I had an opportunity to assist IAFF members whose homes
were damaged by Hurricane Ian. I joined Claudine Buzzo, John
February 2023 | JUMPLINE Magazine