JSO Executive salary increase of 44% claimed by Mayor includes 19 new rank-and-file positions

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Mayor Donna Deegan has pointed to salary increases for JSO executive staff in her effort to convince the city council to refund her proposed Chief of Diversity and Inclusion.

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According to a release put out by the mayor’s office last week, her office claimed council members raised no concerns when signing off on a 44 percent increase in executive salaries for JSO.

But that 44 percent increase includes 19 new rank-and-file officers.

Those are entry-level positions that JSO sources told Action News Jax would come with salaries between $50,000 and $55,000 a year.

Factoring those rank-and-file positions out of the executive salary category brings that 44 percent increase down to a year-over-year increase in the range of 13 to 16 percent.

It’s still more than the three percent increase the mayor’s office is asking for compared to executive salaries under Mayor Lenny Curry’s budget for fiscal year 2021, but Councilmember Nick Howland (R-Group 3 At-Large) argued funding law enforcement is simply not comparable to funding something like a Chief of Diversity and Inclusion.

“Comparing government bureaucrats to police officers, folks who leave home every day and get a latte on their way to work, versus folks who leave home every day not sure if they’re going to return from work, is ridiculous,” said Howland.

Additionally, Howland argued in an interview this past Friday, the median salary for executive officers in the Deegan administration is significantly higher than it was under Curry.

“Her median salary is $153,000 a year. The last administration the median salary was $111,000 a year. So, she is just spending a large amount on salaries. I’ll tell you, if you want to get rich, go work for this mayor,” said Howland.

In an emailed statement the mayor’s office acknowledged the figure they initially attributed to the Sheriff’s executive team did include those 19 new rank-and-file positions.

“Public safety is a priority for Mayor Deegan, and it was important to her to include these pay increases and new positions for JSO in the budget she presented to the City Council. We were simply illustrating the point that of all the worthy new positions and department budget increases, City Council seems to have only focused on the Chief of Diversity and Inclusion in the Mayor’s Office,” said a Mayor’s Office spokesperson.

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Council President Ron Salem (R-Group 2 At-Large) noted in a Friday interview, that the mayor can easily reallocate funding to pay for the Chief of Diversity and Inclusion, even without city council approval.

“So, if he’s not on the payroll October 1, it’s not because of the city council,” said Salem.

It was a point acknowledged by Dr. Parvez Ahmed, Deegan’s pick for the position, but he argued after the racist New Town mass shooting, the council should send a message and support the funding directly.

“What is the message that they’re trying to send by targeting only one position in a city budget that is well over $1.7 billion?” said Ahemed in an interview Friday.

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