Is Beach Patrol Captain Gardner's pay status of administrative leave with pay an authorized pay status under Volusia County Merit Rules?
Updated January 3, 2012
"We must learn to live together as brothers or we are going to perish together as fools"- Rev. Martin Luther King
VolusiaExposed.Com has posted some articles in the past regarding Volusia County Beach Patrol Captain R. Gardner.
Captain Gardner has been on an "administrative leave with pay status" since receiving the below October 25, 2011 letter from Volusia County Public Protection Director, Mike Coffin.
After a detailed search of Volusia County Merit Rules - VolusiaExposed.Com was unsuccessful in locating the existence of an "administrative leave with pay" status.
So we sent an email request to Volusia County Spokesman Dave Byron, in which we requested a copy of the county's policy that authorizes the pay status of "administrative leave with pay".
Mr. Byron responded that no such pay status exists within the Volusia County Merit Rules.
Obviously, since Mr. Byron stated that no such pay status existed within county government, we again demanded to know, under what authority had Captain Gardner been placed under a non existent pay status? Below is the email response we received from Volusia County Personnel Director, Tom Motes.
Within the above email, Volusia County Personnel Director Motes makes note of the last sentence of Section 86-34 of the Volusia County Merit Rules. Basically, the county can, at any time, disregard (or interpret) the County Merit Rules any which way they please. Well, so much for the county's argument that county employees have the safeguards of County Merit Rules, so the need for labor unions by Volusia County employees is non existent.
Sec. 86-34. Coverage. "This article shall apply to all positions and employees in the classified service. Provisions
with respect to general provisions, position classification, compensation plan, and employee
benefit programs apply to all employees in the unclassified service except elected officials, persons
appointed to fill vacancies in elected offices, and members of advisory boards, commissions and
committees. These policies shall serve as a guide to the administration of the personnel system of
the county in keeping with basic merit principles. The policies are not all-inclusive; final discretion
as to interpretation and as to the appropriate course of action concerning a particular personnel
matter shall be that of the county manager.
After completing our investigation into this matter, VolusiaExposed.Com holds the opinion that Volusia County employees MUST follow the County Merit Rules, but county administrative is free to "interpret" the rules as they see fit, and all at the taxpayers' expense !
VOLUSIAEXPOSED.COM PAST ARTICLES ON CAPTAIN R. GARDNER