By Ray King
Council members Joni Alexander and Ivan Whitfield have both voiced their opposition to a request from Mayor Shirley Washington to raise the salary of the police chief from $90,152 to $115,000. Both appeared on TalkBack Live with Floyd Donald Tuesday where they were joined by Greg Horne.
At a meeting of the City Council’s Administration Committee last week, Alexander said if the salary of the police chief is raised 28 percent, as the Mayor requested, the salary of the other officers in the department should be increased by the same amount. She explained that statement Tuesday.
Alexander then had this exchange with Horne.
Whitfield said that the selection of a new chief is not going to turn the city around and reduce crime significantly.
“We have a crime problem,” Whitfield said. “It is not just a police problem. It’s a community problem, it’s a family problem. It’s a lack of income problem. You can get three police chiefs in here and it’s not going to stop what’s going on.”
