This is part 4 in a series The Enterprise-Tocsin is doing on Indianola’s dwindling police force and the impact of understaffing on crime, morale, and justice in the city.
The Indianola Police Department could receive new leadership in the upcoming week.
The mayor and board of aldermen held a special session to interview five candidates for the city’s top cop position Monday evening.
Mayor Ken Featherstone said most candidates had executive experiences such as handling budget and inventory. Featherstone said they plan to make a hire during next Monday’s board meeting.
“We need some leadership over at Indianola Police Department,” Featherstone said. “We think that having leadership there will stop our exodus of police officers. The morale will change once they see strong leadership in place.”
Despite opposition from the majority of the board of aldermen, Featherstone feels that pay for police officers is still an issue, and he shared how he plans to address that issue.
“In theory, we want to reduce the number of officer slots within the budget,” Featherstone said. “Now we give ourselves more room in terms of budget, more money and hourly wages.”
Featherstone explained he is still trying to figure out how to distribute the raise to the police officers. He is still considering whether it would be across the board or based on merit.
Featherstone mentioned the current economic conditions that suggest increased pay for police officers and other city employees.
“The price of gas is going up, the price of living expenses is going up, food is going up, and we have to maintain our cost of living expenses along with the cost of national living expenses,” he said.
On the other side of the pay raise issue looms a budget that is already seeping into the red, just a few months into the city’s fiscal year.
City Clerk Kaneilia Williams explained the state of the city finances to The Enterprise-Tocsin
“We’re $160,000 in the negative,” Williams said. “If that (police raises) is passed, we will continue to be more in the negative.”
Williams said the city would work on next year’s budget from June to September.
The new funding will go into effect in October.
During this time, the city could find a solution, but it would cost the taxpayers, she said.
“The money is found through a tax increase,” Williams said. “Nobody wants that.”
