Post by Logan on Mar 16, 2016 14:47:53 GMT -6
FERGUSON, Mo., March 16 (UPI) -- The Ferguson, Mo., city council approved a U.S. Department of Justice consent decree to change practices in the city's police force.
The unanimous vote Tuesday came after the proposals were rejected six weeks earlier amid concerns over the cost of the upgrades, notably to police salaries. That rejection prompted a federal lawsuit. The reversal came after Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department's civil rights division, wrote a March 4 letter to the council, noting the projected costs of the reforms were inflated.
Jeffrey Blume, the city's finance director, projected the costs to Ferguson of honoring the agreement to be as high as $3.7 million in the first year, largely because of a stipulation demanding competitive salaries be paid to police. The city's operating budget is $14.5 million.
Gupta's letter included an assurance the agreement does not demand immediate improvement in salaries or specify percentage increases.
Read more: www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2016/03/16/Ferguson-Mo-approves-DOJ-agreement-to-fix-police-department/6421458127616/?spt=mps&or=7&sn=tn_us
The unanimous vote Tuesday came after the proposals were rejected six weeks earlier amid concerns over the cost of the upgrades, notably to police salaries. That rejection prompted a federal lawsuit. The reversal came after Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department's civil rights division, wrote a March 4 letter to the council, noting the projected costs of the reforms were inflated.
Jeffrey Blume, the city's finance director, projected the costs to Ferguson of honoring the agreement to be as high as $3.7 million in the first year, largely because of a stipulation demanding competitive salaries be paid to police. The city's operating budget is $14.5 million.
Gupta's letter included an assurance the agreement does not demand immediate improvement in salaries or specify percentage increases.
Read more: www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2016/03/16/Ferguson-Mo-approves-DOJ-agreement-to-fix-police-department/6421458127616/?spt=mps&or=7&sn=tn_us