Byzantine Civil Service Fight in New Orleans Leads to 20 Percent Raises for Police Officers

There’s an ongoing fight in New Orleans over
policies related to public employees. Apparently the mayor, Mitch
Landrieu, has tried to implement changes under the “Great
Place to Work Initiative.” The changes would increase the
minimum wage for public employees to $10.10, make it easier to give
employees pay raises, and loosen rules requiring hiring managers
consider the best qualified candidates for a position.
Nevertheless, multiple public unions sued over the initiative,
arguing it made the city’s civil service less competitive.

The Civil Service Commission originally approved the proposal in
August, and earlier this month
voted on unspecified changes behind closed doors it said were
meant to knock the wind out of lawsuits. No details were made
available. After a few weeks of criticism, the Commission decided
to vote again, though it has not been transparent about what
exactly it voted in favor of the first or second time around. At
this week’s meeting, however, the Commission also addressed cop
pay. As The Lens
reports:

Later in the meeting, the commission approved a 20 percent pay
raise for police officers, based on a recommendation from the Civil
Service Department staff. Under the proposal, officers would
receive a 10 percent bump next year, to be followed by 5 percent
increases in years two and three.

Landrieu’s 2015 budget proposal, however, only accounts for
a 5 percent increase, and Landrieu has not committed to continued
raises in 2016 and 2017. Funding for the raises will ultimately
have to be allocated by the City Council.

Will Landrieu accommodate the generous raise in exchange for
less opposition to his attempt to take more control over who is
hired to public jobs? No matter who wins, New Orleans residents
lose.

The New Orleans Police Department did not face any serious
reforms despite a decades-long negative image reinforced by the
actions of some cops during and after Hurricane Katrina. A few
months ago,
cops shot a man they pulled over in the head and “forgot” to
tell the media who shot him.