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Sheriff plans to lay off more than 200 if they don't accept pay cut

Brittany Wallman, Sun Sentinel

2:33 p.m. EDT, September 21, 2010

As Lamberti delivered his threat, the deputies took to the streets to protest the proposed demotions, pointing out that most of the affected employees are black. Lamberti said the move makes sense and saves taxpayers $5 million. He said the decision wasn't race-based.

The sheriff said he'll downgrade the jobs of 247 jail deputies who work in the jails controlling the entrances and exits to inmate areas. He said other large jail systems don't use certified jail deputies for that work. The deputies will be reclassified as "control room technicians.'' Most of them make in the low $40,000s, and will make in the low $30,000s as of Oct. 1.

Monday, the union held a mass protest. More than 100 demonstrators paced along busy Broward Boulevard in front of the Broward Sheriff's Office headquarters. They carried bright yellow signs alerting drivers – some of whom honked – that "Lamberti equals low morale,'' "Lamberti lacks leadership," "Unequal is unfair," "Equal cuts across the board," and urging people to "Say no to discrimination at BSO.''

Broward County taxes property owners to fund the sheriff's budget. County commissioners asked the sheriff to cut $60 million from his $425 million budget. But he didn't. His cuts so far total just $23 million. Last week, the county demanded another $21.8 million in cuts.

Lamberti said Monday he hasn't decided what else to cut, if anything, or whether to appeal to the state Cabinet and governor.

Flanked by about 50 Sheriff's Office employees, about a third of them black, Lamberti defended his budget cuts Monday and said he was offended by allegations his targeting of jail deputies was race-based.

"To say that's how it was done is absolutely wrong, and it is insulting,'' Lamberti said.

About 72 percent of the deputies facing pay cuts are black, according to the union. Meanwhile, the road patrol deputies, who are not being downgraded and are not facing pay cuts, are mostly white.

Making the sheriff's move even more sinister, according to Federation of Public Employees union leader Sgt. Tony Marciano, is the fact that the jail deputies' union endorsed Lamberti opponent Scott Israel before the 2008 election. The road patrol union endorsed Lamberti.

"With this big pay cut I'll be moving in with a friend,'' said jail deputy Richard Sinclair, 29, who protested outside BSO Monday. "The cuts are so dramatic I can't afford to live on my own anymore."

Roy Willaby, 35, a husband and father of three, said he could lose his home. He urged the sheriff to spread cuts across the BSO budget.

"Make everything equal,'' he said.

Marciano said he filed a federal complaint under the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and also a union grievance.

Wiley Thompson, who ran unsuccessfully for sheriff in 2008 and now is the agency's human resources director, said it was "unfortunate'' race is being brought into the discussion. Thompson is black. He said the job downgrades make good sense for BSO, and that now's a good time to do it.

Thompson said his office will begin calling the affected employees in, one by one, to give them their pink slips. If they want to stay at the lower salary, he said, they'll be welcomed.

If not, the sheriff said he won't have any trouble filing the vacancies. He put up a job posting for the positions, he said, and in one week got 236 applications. He'll offer the jobs to them, he said.