| Remember those who remembered us |
It is very important for us to remember our legislators who stand up and speak for us. Lets help each other to remember those who remembered us.January 10, 2004 - Delaware State News Rep. John C. Atkins, R-Millsboro, said correction officers are underpaid, and instead of giving a bonus to other higher-paid employees, the state should increase the officers' pay. "I spend a lot of time in the prisons listening to their comments," Rep. Atkins said. "The public thinks they eat doughnuts and twirl keys all night, but it is not like that. "They are fighting and wrestling and dealing with sewer water to keep us safe. We are losing good, quality employees to other occupations." January 23, 2004 - Delaware State News House Minority Whip Rep. Clifford G. Lee, R-Laurel, said he had wanted to hear about raises for correctional officers. Gov. Minner did not mention salaries for any state workers, instead opting to reveal her salary plans when she makes her budget recommendations Jan. 29. Rep. Lee said his daughter-in-law works as a correction officer in Maryland because Delaware's prisons do not pay enough. "We are losing prison guards because of the pay," he said. January 30, 2004 - Delaware State News Governor Ruth Ann Minner "This money will be used to increase the salaries of correctional officers on top of the state employee pay raise,'' Gov. Minner said. "(It) recognizes the hard and dangerous work these men and women do.'' June 7, 2004 - Delaware State News Rep. Nancy H. Wagner, R-Dover, vice-chair of the House Corrections Committee ""I would think they should be more concerned with how they can close these loopholes as quickly as possible. "The mind set seems to be, 'Nobody is going to know, we're not going to change, and the public be damned.' '' Republican gubernatorial candidate William Swain Lee "I think corrections is the poor stepchild of the state," said Mr. Lee, a retired judge living in Rehoboth Beach. "We will spend money on new cells to lock more people up, but the staff is underpaid and they leave for other states with better working conditions and better pay. They have big problems." January10, 2005 - Delaware State News "The biggest things are some sort of pay increase and incentives to get these people to apply for the jobs and stay," said Rep. John C. Atkins, R-Millsboro, January 10, 2005 - WBOC Republican Senate Minority Leader John Still says the General Assembly should focus on improving the guards' pay. "I think they need an immediate pay increase right now," he said. "I'm thinking 6 to 8 percent for the department." Rep. Robert F. Gilligan, the Democratic house minority leader, agrees with Still. He said a pay raise would help, but he does not think it will make the position too much more attractive. "Paying money of and by itself isn't going to solve the problem," he said. "Having a shortage of prison guards, it's because of the job they do." January 25, 2005 - Governor Minner's State of the State Address "Finally, my proposed budget will contain the next steps in our continuing effort to address the issue of staffing in our state's correctional system. It will include funding to increase security and to increase pay for correctional officers. I know that these issues will be carefully considered." |