Jackson Free Press

A recent Precinct 4 COPS meeting revealed anxiety over Mayor Melton's recent move to dissolve the Crime Prevention Unit. The unit, employing only one academy-graduated police officer, was recognized at the meeting as a useful tool for the community to use to communicate with the Jackson Police Department.

"They were very helpful to us," said Jackson Police Foundation President Susan Lunardini, who pointed out that the Police Foundation had recently invested about $3,000 in training members of the now-defunct unit. "They were always here at the COPS meeting, and they had a good grasp of what the community wanted the police department to do."

Last week, all eight members of the team were issued notices of termination, to the dismay of some council members and COPS moderatorBob Oertel.

"Let's just hope that this administration will make a stronger effort to communicate with us in the future," said Oertel of the unexpected lay-offs.

Melton said at the Oct. 4 Council meeting that the city is entering this year in a $6 million hole, and used the budget gap as defense for the firings.

Police Chief Shirlene Anderson informed the employees of the decision three days before their jobs were to be eliminated on Oct. 1, and told them they would be paid through Oct. 15, the employees say. As civil-service employees, they are entitled to apply for other city jobs, but have no guarantee of being hired. If hired, they will still face dramatic pay cuts.

Council President Marshand Crisler, Ward 7 Councilwoman Margaret Barrett-Simon and Ward 2 Councilman Leslie McLemore offered the most resistance to Melton's decision.

"I wish you had known them," Barrett-Simon said at the Oct. 4 council meeting in response to Melton's admission that he'd never met members of the unit. She argued that their efforts had made a positive impact in her ward. "There are rumors that we might have had problems with one or more members of the unit, but that's no reason to get rid of the whole thing." Melton has hinted at those problems, but has provided no specifics of which people he was talking about.

Lunardini agreed the unit had suffered difficulties. "They are a unit that had a lot of problems. They had been under the police department, then under the city administration and back under the police department. They had answered to a lot of different bosses. It prevented them from being at their optimum level," Lunardini said.

Brenda Scott, president of the Mississippi Alliance of State Employees, who represents city workers, said the layoffs are not good, but said the situation could have been worse.

"I'm not going to applaud the fact that people are having to take a pay cut because that's never good, but I represent the state employees, and our officers at (the Mississippi State Penitentiary in) Parchman, who were terminated and given their paycheck and pink slip the same day, and they were escorted off the grounds. You weigh those two situations, and I think the Crime Prevention Unit fared better," says Scott, adding that sacrifices would have to be made because of budget shortfalls.

"I'm sure the other administration left the financial situation in shambles, so I think the mayor and his administration is doing a pretty good job straightening it out."

Scott was a vocal proponent of Melton's campaign.

Former Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr., challenged critics to find the red ink his administration left behind.

"You have to balance the city budget every year. You can't pass a budget with a deficit. I understand (Melton) was trying to blame it on my administration, but during my administration last year we had our bond rating increased twice. … There's no way we could have been in any financial trouble. If there's financial trouble, it's because this administration has not been able to balance the budget," Johnson said. "This whole thing about there being a deficit is political campaign talk. The election's over. It's now time to govern."

Scott said she'd spoken with Melton last week and said the mayor had agreed to get with the city attorney to see if they could work up a 30-day severance package with insurance for the jobless employees. City spokeswoman Carolyn Redd confirmed that Melton intended to do this.

The elimination of these positions will save the city about $275,000 a year. The city's new budget includes $110,000 in raises for the city's legal department.