By Ray King
On Monday, the Pine Bluff City Council voted 6-2 to approve a $3,000 bonus to police officers who remained on the force until the end of the year as a way to encourage retention of the officers. One of those who voted no was first-ward Council Member Joni Alexander. Tuesday morning, Alexander talked about the vote with Deltaplex News.
She went on to talk about other departments like Code Enforcement and suggested that the more than $300,000 the bonuses will cost the city could be used to tear down houses since Code Enforcement receives only $150,000 each year to do that. Alexander went on to talk about the Public Safety Committee, of which she is a member, working on a wide-ranging plan to improve benefits for public safety officers.
Current Police Chief Kelvin Sergeant is due to retire at the end of June and the Mayor has named a committee to search for a news chief. Alexander was asked if the council will have any input in the selection process.
Last month, the City of Pine Bluff sued Jefferson County over jail bed space fees, and Alexander talked about who was to blame for that lawsuit.
She also said the biggest issue was that the lawsuit was “not a good look” for Pine Bluff.
