MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Memphis City Council has passed Mayor A C Wharton’s 2015-2016 fiscal budget with a 2% raise for fire and police personnel.
Other city workers will receive a 1% raise.
The raises will go into effect January 1, 2016.
The motion passed 9-4.
The raises are estimated to cost $3.1 million which will come from unfilled positions in the city.
“It is a result of the give and take that we’re able to do this,” said Mayor A C Wharton after the vote passed late Tuesday morning.
Wharton said raises for city employees is the right thing.
Tuesday City Council found $3.1 million in the budget to make it happen.
Wharton told WREG he didn’t send a budget with raises because he thought council members would shoot it down.
“This is precisely what I hoped we would do,” he said.
“We didn’t take money from asphalt or other issues that people continue to call us about everyday,” explained City Administrative Officer Jack Sammons.
But the Memphis Police Association said a 2% pay hike wasn’t enough.
The union was upset the Council approved the budget before hearing why officers deservef a 3% raise.
Memphis Police Association President Mike Williams said 400 officers have left the department since 2013 and if they don’t get better pay and benefits they will continue to leave.
“This City Council just made a mockery out of the legislative process,” said Williams just minutes after they voted on Wharton’s budget.
Williams said he’s disappointed in the process and claimed the city would find even more money for other projects.
“We’ve shown them where the money is; they know where the money is,” said Williams. “You continuously say you don’t have money but I guarantee you there are going to be other projects they’re going to come up with.”
Williams said his group would be looking at legal options because he does not think the council legally followed the impasse process.
As to whether or not the raise will affect the number of police officers leaving the police department, Police Director Toney Armstrong said he’s hopeful but he said, “we’ll see.”
“Certainly I hope it improves morale and it slows down the influx of officers that are leaving the department,” said Armstrong.
Armstrong said it’s too early to tell if the raise will cut down on crime.
“We have to have bodies. We have to have people in uniform responding to people’s calls for service,” he explained.
The city has no shortage of calls for service.
This past weekend alone 15 people were shot in Memphis.
The budget included $7 million for police and fire recruiting classes, but last week Armstrong said not enough recruits signed up for the last class.
He hoped that changes this time around.
“There’s no way to know without actually going through the process,” he said.
The entire meeting lasted 7 1/2 hours but it was not short of drama as some people claimed the meeting operated on a political agenda.
“This whole process is a farce,” said councilwoman Janis Fullilove.
Fullilove was speaking to the council as they were deciding whether or not to vote on the mayor’s budget or listen to arguments from unions about why they deserved a raise.
“I never thought I would say this in my life but I am so sorry to be on this council with many of you,” said Fullilove.
The council chose to vote on the budget, which Fullilove voted against.
Councilman and mayoral candidate Harold Collins voted against the budget.
He said the city should’ve heard from the unions and said it’s a poor reflection on the council.
“That there was something already preordained, pre-orchestrated and that put us in an unfavorable light to the people,” said Collins.
Councilman and mayoral candidate Jim Strickland disagreed.
He said he met personally with the police union and said although he had a tough time getting information from Wharton’s Office at times, the council did the best it could.
“We did the best job with the limited information we had,” he said.