NEW ORLEANS (press release) – The Business Council of New Orleans and the River Region and the NOLA Coalition applaud the New Orleans City Council’s unanimous passage of a measure to increase the salary of the next New Orleans police superintendent to a range between $274,000 and $360,000. The higher salary will help attract the best national talent for the critical position of NOPD Superintendent, and is consistent with compensation of other key local leaders, such as the superintendent of schools, and the executive director of the Sewerage and Water Board.
“Public safety is an urgent issue of lives and livelihoods in New Orleans, so it makes excellent sense to pay a nationally competitive salary for the next NOPD Chief,” said Michael Hecht, one of the organizers of the NOLA Coalition. “Increasing the compensation for the Superintendent of Police has been a top priority of the NOLA Coalition, and we thank the City Council for their leadership on this issue, and express our appreciation to the Administration for their support.”
With the pay issue addressed, the NOLA Coalition and the Business Council now encourage the City and the International Association of Chiefs of Police to move with urgency on the search process for the next NOPD Chief. Furthermore, the groups urge consideration of other measures to attract and retain the best superintendent talent, including a contract that provides appropriate security across administrations.
“This salary change provides our community the opportunity to attract a diverse pool of senior law enforcement executives from within our region and beyond, and to provide compensation commensurate to what will be asked of them” said Jim Cook, Chair of the Business Council’s Criminal Justice Task Force. “The men and women of the New Orleans Police Department and the citizens of every district deserve to know the next leader of the NOPD has been selected from a pool of top talent. Today the City Council made it clear they want the best for our city as well.”
Business Groups Support Salary Boost for NOPD Chief
