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GOVERNOR’S SPIN ATTEMPT WRONG, DPS ORGANIZATION CHART SHOWS SANFORD’S BPS WASTE WORSE THAN THOUGHT
The Office of Gov. Mark Sanford, through its on-again, off-again spokesman Will Folks, is angry about a post that appeared on The Palmetto Scoop Monday.
The TPS piece claimed that Sanford’s opposition to the legislature’s proposed “Capitol Police Force” is purely political and would only continue his wasteful use of the Bureau of Protective Services.
The story noted that 11 of the 67 BPS officers which are supposed to provide security for the Statehouse are actually administrators assigned by Sanford to an office in Blythewood, while taxpayers foot the bill. But the governor’s office quickly fired back.
“FITS has discovered that at least two of the full-time ‘administrators’ referenced by the Scoop are actually assigned to guard … wait for it … the H.L. Hunley,” Folks wrote on his blog, FITSNews. “Ironically, [TPS]’s benefactors at [Richard Quinn and Associates] also represent Friends of the Hunley.”
Unfortunately for Sanford and Folks, though, their facts are wrong.
According to an organizational chart from the Department of Public Safety (Sanford’s cabinet agency which oversees BPS) obtained by TPS, only one officer is currently paid to guard the Hunley, not two.
But at least that person is guarding something, which is more than the governor’s team can say for almost all of the other administrators assigned to the Blythewood office — information I probably wouldn’t have discovered had they just left the issue alone.
The DPS organizational chart showed BPS has a total of 74 positions. And, of those, 16 are stationed in Blythewood.
The chart breaks the 16 Blythewood-based officers into 11 administrative staff and 5 support staff.
On the “administrative” side, one guards the Hunley, two are tasked with watching the gate at the Blythewood office, and the other eight are purely administrators.
On the “support” side, one person is paid to guard an elevator and communicate with personnel at the Statehouse. The other four are administrative positions.
Doing the math, that equals 12 taxpayer-funded administrators — or nearly 20 percent of the total BPS staff — that are supposed to be guarding the Statehouse who are instead pushing paper at an office 30 minutes from Columbia.
And not only was Sanford completely oblivious to this at a press conference Monday, but now he’s trying to defend it — or at the very least cloud it in a smokescreen.
And worse yet — yes, there’s somehow a worse yet — the governor had the nerve to attack the legislature for trying to restructure BPS put an end to Sanford’s BPS waste.
“Sadly, the whole Capitol Police Force debate stems from Sanford’s refusal to go along with millions of dollars in totally unnecessary and ineffective State House security upgrades,” Folks wrote on his blog.
Those “unnecessary” and “ineffective” security upgrades in the General Assembly’s proposed Capitol Police Force legislation include guarding the entire Statehouse, the supreme court, the court of appeals, the lieutenant governor, and providing a 24/7 dispatch.
Oh, and get this… it will be done with only 30 officers and two support staff — only two times the number of BPS officers Sanford has guarding the “mythical Statehouse” in Blythewood.
“The House just took what it absolutely needed to do the core functions and do them properly, efficiently, and effectively,” one South Carolina insider told TPS of the legislatures plan to consolidate BPS.
The other 42 BPS officers will be left to the governor for providing his security. It will be completely up to him to decide whether to save hundreds of thousands of dollars with his assigned officers, or to continue wasting money.
waste? waste?
call it what it is …CORRUPTION
ABUSE OF POWER
ILLEGAL ACTIVITY
Isn’t interesting that not one of those police officers has spoken out about the fact thay they were in Blythewood when in fact they should have been guarding the Capitol Bldg.
This is Freakin’ Amazing, they should all be FIRED!
Why? Because all those police officers ARE CORRUPT.
Hey Fogle,
Did you go colorblind? Better check those charts again, bo.
Oh, don’t worry. We’ll address that tomorrow …
-Sic
Oh… sweet. The ridiculously overused FITSNews tease.
I can hardly wait to read the story — the anticipation is killing me.
All I want to know, is will it be preceded by a post about Lindsay Lohan’s boobs or a post about the latest image you found on Google?
Please let it not be LLB’s. I think they are in rehab, anyway.
Come on, when it comes to visual appeal, a lot of people will say FITS wins hands-down. Or hands-on. Whatever works.
http://www.fitsnews.com/2009/05/14/political-hack-goes-colorblind/
Earl, Sic, Adonis –
Same as it ever was…same as it ever was…same as it ever was…
Same as it ever was…same as it ever was…same as it ever was…
Same as it ever was…same as it ever was…
~Talking Heads, “Once in a Lifetime”
This website has no idea what the truth is in this situation. Once again, working at HQ in Blythewood is the chief, one captain, one sergeant, one corporal and one lance corporal. Those are all of the officers actually in Blythewood. Two of these people that are assigned to the gates are on the BPS organizational chart but are not employed by BPS. They are DPS employees and they are not police officers. BPS simply oversees thier timesheets and schedules. They are part time. There are two positions in Charleston to gaurd the Hunley although one of those positions is vacant. The other captain and lieutenant are assigned to administration but work at the Statehouse. Seriously worst reporting ever.
Adam you just got burned…
That picture is nice however, see you at the convention, bud…
Neocon – It is a pretty good picture.
Although, I’m not quite as photogenic as you are:
http://media.collegepublisher.com/media/paper1381/stills/g0q757i6.jpg
As for the getting burned, allow me to use a Will Folks tease and say “that will be addressed soon.”
See you know how to use Google, now to the fact that you published my photo without my consent. That has to be some sort of terms violation, I think I’ll contact McMaster…
Neocon,
You may want to look up the definition of the term “published.” I didn’t publish crap… your school did. I just linked to it.
Plus, you don’t have any consent over photos taken in public — especially at an event where you’re on stage. Surely someone with the successful background you so often brag about would know these things.
Get a life.
- A.F.
I have a life and your a true ass…
Your just upset that Folks showed you up, you’d think you’d be use to it by now.