We applaud Pine Bluff Mayor Carl Redus for holding true to the promised purpose and intent of a local sales tax. Last week, during the debate over allocation of the voter-approved 5/8-cent tax to support public safety, Redus asked the city council to honor the wishes of taxpayers and give larger raises to employees of the police and fire departments. At least a few council members think they know better. In this instance, they don’t.
It is no secret the citizens of Pine Bluff are facing one the most violent eras in the history of our city. At a time when crime rates across the nation approach 30-year lows, ours is on the rise. If present trends continue, we will end 2011 among the most murderous communities in America. Other types of violent crime are likewise mounting.
Complicating this, the Pine Bluff Police Department administration has done little to help itself. For whatever reason, numerous police officers have left for jobs in other cities. As City Finance Director Steve Miller observed recently, our police officers, particularly mid-level supervisors, are not paid competitively when compared to their counterparts in other markets. Policing, like all other professions, attracts talent through three things: working environment; direct remuneration; and opportunity for advancement. Sadly, we are falling short.
The other bulwark of public safety, the fire department, faces an enemy it has long combatted: an aging housing stock, occupied by a highly transient population with little investment in long-term security. Moreover, the fire department has been without a permanent chief for some months. Neither situation, especially the former, shows any promise of easy resolution.
Saddled with this knowledge, the people approved an additional tax to support these city departments. The public recognized we are at a watershed moment in the history of our community. Either we take measures designed to buttress public safety, or the problems will increase. The public safety tax was a good first step.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Even with all of this as context, members of the city council would seek to undermine the public will. Last Thursday, the members of the Ways and Means committee voted to redistribute money tagged for public safety to all other departments in the city. The move is marketed as a kind of blanket fairness. It is that in name only.
At a time when we face all the aforementioned challenges, we cannot afford the luxury of short-changing the brave men and women of our police and fire departments. When compared to their peers, these dedicated souls face more stress, danger and difficulty than virtually any other community outside of major cities. Moreover, our public safety workers have little in the way of employee assistance programs to combat the terrible stresses of their jobs. In short, we have asked a great deal of them while at the same time denying them fair compensation.
Members of the city council rightly point out the impact of a tough economy on all municipal employees. No one denies that reality, but the travails of average office workers simply do not compare with the collapse of burning buildings and the resistance of fleeing felons. As such, priorities must be established.
The people have already spoken on this matter. They voted for increased public safety. The climbing death toll and epidemic of violent crime require the city council heed the people to whom they answer. Unless we invest in basic public safety infrastructure, salaries and support, all other municipal departments — along with the community — will shrink. If they’re worried about the fairness of some getting raises while others do not, they should weigh the consequences of deciding whom to fire when the taxpayers become less generous.
In the end, the council needs to heed the mayor’s advice.