Miami-Dade police officers packed County Hall on Thursday to fight salary cuts.
"We, like most people, live paycheck to paycheck. We don't have an exorbitant amount of money," said Sgt. Jeri Mitchell.
Mitchell has served 26 years on the force. She knows firsthand the sacrifices officers make, after her former partner, Officer Amanda Haworth, was killed while serving a search warrant last year. Another officer, Roger Castillo, also was fatally shot that day.
"We give up our families to serve this community. Sometimes, like Amanda and Roger, we don't go home," said Mitchell.
Mitchell already contributes 5 percent toward the cost of health care. City leaders now want officers to fork over an additional 5 percent to fill a multimillion-dollar budget gap.
"We need this 5 percent additional contribution to health care to help balance the budget. It was part of the original plan to begin with," said Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez.
"While I am not against the cuts that have to be imposed on everybody; I am against the way the Mayor is putting it right now," said Chairman Joe Martinez.
Gimenez proposed the new cost-cutting contract. Just last year, the Miami-Dade Police Department's overtime and incentives were slashed, and union leaders said enough is enough.
"Ten percent, over and above the fact that we gave up three times more concessions than any other union," said union leader John Rivera.
If the 5 percent is voted down, Gimenez said they will have to find the money elsewhere, which could mean layoffs.
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