Randy Robertson, FOP 9 Local President
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President's Page
Dear Member,
For the past two years you have allowed me to serve as your local FOP
lodge president. During this time we have accomplished many things.
We have educated the citizens of Columbus and Muscogee County to the
plight of their law enforcement officers. Our campaign for better
benefits and a fair pay system is far from over, but I believe we now
have allies in the business community who feel this problem must be
solved for Columbus to continue to prosper and they are dedicated to
helping us accomplish this. Your FOP pointed out regulations in the
Department of Labor's Fair Labor and Standards Act (FLSA) pertaining to
first responder's compensation, which were being ignored by the city.
Our actions resulted in Lieutenants and Captains in Columbus and Muscogee
County law enforcement agencies now receiving overtime pay.
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In the upcoming year we will face more challenges. Our concerns over the
lack of action by our city leaders concerning the compensation and benefits
to ALL law enforcement officers will not fade with the defeat of th 1% sales
tax initiative. We worked hard and supported our city leaders in the LOST
campaign and we will now see if that support was in vain.
We must work hard to convince all city leaders that the old ways of dealing with
public safety will no longer work. We need to convince OUR Mayor
and each of OUR City Councilors that governmenrt services provided
to the citizens of Columbus/Muscogee County should be prioritized according to what
is most important to the citizens of our community. Each department's budget should be
dealt with according to what the citizens consider to be the indispensable services offered.
We cannot stand by and let politics dictate how tax money is spent.
We have continued to promote and expand our efforts to help our community's children with
the Shop with a Cop program. We were also named Club of the Year in 2003
for our members work with Easter Seals of West Georgia. Many of our members
continue to help feed our elderly citizens during the holiday season through the FOP
food basket program. Please become a part of one or all of these worthy causes. We as public servants
are called to protect and assist those less fortunate.
I am proud to remind you that your lodge is now the largest lodge in the state of Georgia and growing
monthly . We have plans to expand the membership of our lodge even more in the coming months. We hope
to expand member benefits and look into getting more value for our member's insurance dollar.
We will have members who will need us to comfort and protect them in the year ahead and we MUST
be there for them. Remember that we will be able to handle anything, if we stand together as one unified group
because as all FOP members know our efforts are never ending nor tiring and within the bounds
of the FOP we are ALL one great and powerful unit.
If you have any questions concerning this issue please e-mail
me at
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