Phoenix City Council Approves High Salaries For Police Oversight Staff

money

On Wednesday, in a 7-2 vote, the Phoenix City Council approved 15 new positions for the Office of Accountability and Transparency. In June, the Council approved the creation of the Office.

Councilmembers Sal DiCiccio and Jim Waring voted in opposition to both the creation and staffing of the Office.

The Office is tasked with “providing police oversight and monitoring of possible misconduct complaints against sworn personnel of the Phoenix Police Department.”

In an interview on KFYI’s James T. Harris show, Sam Stone, DiCiccio’s Chief of Staff called the budget for the Office of Accountability and Transparency (OAT), “absurd.”

The “money could be used for any range of social programs, job training programs; anything like that,” argued Stone. “Instead we’re giving people with social justice warrior degrees jobs and it is just ridiculous.”

In fact, the average base salary for a social worker in Arizona is $54,389. That is approximately $2000 less than the lowest salary of the newly approved positions. The positions include:

Director: $95,493 – $162,323 annually ($45.91 – $ 78.04 hourly)
Attorney: $93,995 – $150,363 annually ($45.19 – $72.29 hourly)
Executive Administrative Assistant: $55,931 – $85,176 annually ($26.89 – $40.95)

According to the meeting’s agenda, “A work study team was assembled to guide the initial steps in establishing this new office, including identifying the first three positions that will be need to be filled. Establishing these classifications and positions now will enable the recruiting and selection process to begin. It is expected that as many as 15 full-time positions will be added as the Office becomes fully staffed. The newly hired Director will have guidance and influence on the actual classifications and positions necessary for the new office.”

About ADI Staff Reporter 12168 Articles
Under the leadership of Editor-in -Chief Huey Freeman, our team of staff reporters bring accurate,timely, and complete news coverage.