Monday, June 22, 2009

Mark is all that matters to Mark

This blog was sent to me. . I thought it was worth posting. Goes to the whole issue of Mark Spencer serving himself before the members.

We are all aware that sales tax revenues have continued to decline and the revenue the city receives no longer covers the costs of services currently being delivered. That’s the reason the City had to cut nearly $270 million from its budget earlier this year, including $35 million from the Police Department budget.

Recently things took another turn for the worse as in the first five months of the year Phoenix took in about $12 million less than anticipated, a shortfall that could grow to more than $14 million by the end of the fiscal year. City sales-tax receipts from January through May show that the city collected $144.5 million, $12.4 million or about 8 percent less than its number-crunchers had projected. In May, for example, Phoenix only received $27.9 million, $2.8 million less than was expected. City leaders now tell us that Phoenix will have to burn through a good chunk of its $32 million rainy-day fund to fill this unexpected mid-year budget gap.

Why then, is Mark Spencer turning his back on $20 million in federal stimulus funds to hire new officers and improve public-safety technology?

Last week a team of Phoenix officials, including Mayor Phil Gordon, Chief Jack Harris and even Fire Chief Bob Khan went to Washington D.C. to lobby for federal public safety funding for Phoenix police. Although the Mayor invited Mark Spencer to join the Phoenix team, Spencer declined to join the team.

OK. We get it. Spencer does not like Gordon and Harris. Heck, many of us don’t like the men and women in our squads or units. But when its time to get the job done we push those personal feelings aside and work together. In our line of work lives depend on the unit functioning as a team.

For Mark Spencer to thumb his nose at $20 million in resources for his members shows once again he is out only for himself, not for the rest of us.

The Mayor even offered to save some of our union dues by finding a private donor to pay for Spencer’s travel and entertainment expenses to D.C. Again, Spencer said no and decided to spend more of our union dues for his trip.

Maybe its time to ask Mark Spencer if he knows there is no “I” in Team. But the more I watch him, the more I expect that he will tell me I am right, but there is a “me” in Team.

You can read the whole article here:

http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/PHXBeat/55748
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8 comments:

  1. outsideJune 22, 2009 at 11:02 AM

    Mark is putting his personal interests ahead of his responsibility to represent the members. I don't like the move that the city manager made with Jack Harris, even though I don't have anything against Harris. But my reasons for not liking it are personal and have nothing to do with how the department is run. Jack is capable of running the department and he's proven that.

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  2. melJune 22, 2009 at 2:43 PM

    I know people who cut off their noses to spite their faces. Spencer seems to be one of these people. But does he realize he is cutting of his nose to spite the 4000 faces of phoenix police officers. There is more to this equation that just mark spencer. I resent this and so do many other PLEA members.

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  3. AnonymousJune 22, 2009 at 2:45 PM

    This is total BS. Phx PD could use that $20 million, especially now! Put your ego in check Spencer and start representing your members instead of yourself.

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  4. AnonymousJune 22, 2009 at 2:48 PM

    There are two kinds of crazy. The kind of guy who gets naked and howls at the moon, and the guy who does it in my living room. The first kind doesnt bother me, the second kind you are forced to deal with. Its time to deal with Spencer.

    ReplyDelete
  5. 728June 22, 2009 at 8:43 PM

    This was the ultimate in Mark taking his toys and running away. He wanted the feds to give Phoenix the money and went there to lobby all by himself. Instead of showing up with the Mayor, the Chief of Police and the Fire Chief, he wanted to try to do it all by himself. What an idiot. Friends in DC got word that he was the laughing stock of the city because he is showing up all by himself after the city has already made their case. What they don't know is that he is the laughing stock of Phoenix also.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousJune 22, 2009 at 9:30 PM

    LMAO. He must have thought he was going to get the money without any support. What a total dumbass. Can't you just see it. Mark Spencer, hero of the phoenix police department, personally delivers $20M to the city.

    This proves he doesn't have a clue.

    ReplyDelete
  7. suns fanJune 23, 2009 at 10:36 PM

    What's a measly $20 mil. Hell that's chump change to a big wheel like Spencer. He'd rather lose his nuts than show up with the Mayor and his crew.. . if he had any nuts.

    What a waste.

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  8. AnonymousJuly 1, 2009 at 4:06 PM

    It's all about Mark. It's just that simple.

    Here is a true story about Mark. When he became president after his less than truthful campaign against Jake Jacobsen Mark refused to move into the presidents office at PLEA and had another board member take occupancy.

    Why? It seems that Mark's grandmother advised him that Jake was the "devil" and the office was still evil. Of course "faith based" Mark moved down the hall.

    And that folks is a true story.

    ReplyDelete

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