NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Friday afternoon, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu announced that all NOPD officers will be given 10% raises. The move follows a 5% raise the officers received last year.
The latest raise will be implemented in two phases with 5% coming later this year and the remaining 5% coming at the start of 2016.
Landrieu says the raises will make almost all NOPD officers the highest paid — at their rank — in the state compared to other law enforcement agencies.
But the move comes as the city is battling with firefighters over millions of dollars in back pay and pension payments. Also, a recent report by the Inspector General’s Office is critical of the NOPD’s bang for the budget bucks. For more information on that, click on the video button above.
Landrieu says the city is collecting more revenue than expected due in part to the number of new businesses that have opened in the past few years. He says the city will spend $14.6 million in surplus money from 2014 on the latest round of police raises. Deputy Mayor Andy Kopplin says he expects the higher revenue collection to continue this year and into the future, securing the money.
The Civil Service Commission and New Orleans City Council must both approve the proposal. During Thursday’s announcement, several council members spoke in favor of the idea.
