| Cards anger police, fire officials Badges not part of design policy 04/08/2001 By Lee Powell / The Dallas Morning News Call it the battle of the badge.
A new policy standardizing the look of business cards for city of Irving employees has police officers and firefighters fuming because they'll no longer be able to include their badge as part of the design.
In the past, Irving police and fire officials have been free to include either their badge and badge number or department emblem on business cards they paid for.
But under the city's recently adopted graphics identification policy, all cards will now be bought by the city to ensure that Irving's stylized "I" logo – called the "bacon and egg" by city employees – is used consistently.
And that means no badges or emblems like the ones depicted on department patches.
"I think the policy speaks for itself," City Manager Steve McCullough said.
He points to the introduction of the graphics identification policy that says "a consistent graphics package represents the city of Irving as a unified group of people working toward a common goal" as the reason for going to one design.
But Investigator John Schingle, president of the Irving Police Association, says the badge needs to be included on officer business cards because people know what it is.
"It's more of an authority issue," he said. "If you go out and show a plain business card with the city emblem, there's a chance you won't be recognized as a police or fire authority."
Officer Curtis Kaloi, president of the police patrolman's union, said officers in the department have been even more blunt.
"They tell me we have people out there dying for the badge and they won't let us put it on a business card," said Officer Kaloi.
Most cities in the Dallas-Fort Worth area have policies covering how city logos are to be used and permit police and fire badges on business cards along with the city's emblem.
Dallas, for example, has a standard business card design, but badge numbers are added for police officers; those wishing to include the Police Department's badge design have to pay for their own cards.
Investigator Schingle is hoping for a compromise with city officials that will allow those in the Police and Fire departments to include a badge design along with Irving's city logo.
Such a compromise may emerge after a committee of the Irving City Council takes up the matter.
Council members typically don't get involved in the implementation of city policy, but Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Herbert Gears said opposition from the rank and file left the body no choice.
"It's unfortunate [the city] staff is going to have to force us to get five votes to see whether they can put the badge on their business cards," he said. "We'll work it out in committee."
At a council work session last week, several council members said that perhaps the city was interpreting the recommendations from an outside firm's 1998 communications audit too narrowly.
The city's graphic identification policy with the suggestion for uniformly designed business cards emerged as a result of the $35,840 audit, which among other things, called for the city to ditch its current logo because it doesn't tell a message.
Besides business cards, the city also is adopting standards for items ranging from stationery to uniforms and city vehicles.
"We want to spend our communication dollars wisely, so we want to have a plan," said Patty Landers, the city's community affairs director.
Staff writer Lee Powell can be reached at 972-594-7198, ext. 2003, or by email, at .
|
