CRESTVIEW — Mayor David Cadle has asked the City Council to consider giving Police Chief Tony Taylor a raise.
While not requesting a specific amount, Cadle said Taylor has proven himself worthy of an increase above his current $73,630 salary.
Fort Walton Beach’s retiring police chief makes $105,000, but “I’m not asking for anywhere near that,” Cadle said.
Cadle credits Taylor for turning around a dispirited agency riddled with corruption to one that has regained the public’s trust and support, and works diligently toward accreditation.
“I did not know what anyone could do to restore that agency,” Cadle said. “He exceeded my expectations in every way.”
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Cadle cites several of Taylor’s accomplishments:
●Implementing initiatives such as the Citizens Police Academy and informal Coffee With a Cop gatherings
●Beginning the agency’s lengthy accreditation process
●Tightening the department’s budget through programs including refurbishing older patrol cars at one-quarter the cost of buying new ones and consolidating resources
●Increasing officers’ salaries, bringing them closer to the local average to prevent officers leaving for better pay after Crestview taxpayers finance their training
●Using Warriors Hall for training Crestview police officers and officers from regional agencies.
“He has restored cooperation between the Crestview Police Department and the other agencies in the area,” Cadle said.
Cadle announced Taylor’s appointment Sept. 24, 2012, after a search to replace discredited former chief Brian Mitchell, who resigned following a scandal leading to the arrest of his former operations commander, Maj. Joseph Floyd.
“Chief Taylor had a daunting task ahead of him,” Cadle told the City Council March 28. “I set the salary scale too low because I wasn't sure what sort of reception I was going to get in this room.”
NO RAISE SINCE ’12
Taylor’s salary has not increased since his appointment, and he has deferred any proposed raise funds to his officers.
Cadle asked that City Clerk Betsy Roy look for sources for increasing Taylor’s pay that would not require additional revenue.
Suggestions include using the difference in recently retired former Library Director Jean Lewis’s salary and the lower salary of her replacement, and savings realized by last year’s relocation of the communications center to police headquarters.
The council, which is beginning the 2016-17 budgeting process, is receptive to Cadle’s request.
“I have known him (Taylor) many years and I know his work ethic,” Councilman Doug Faircloth said. “As a law enforcement veteran myself, I understand what he has gone through and how much effort it has taken. I don't see anything wrong with finding ways to increase his compensation.”
Taylor said he is proud of the progress the department has made and is optimistic about the department’s future.
“I enjoy being here,” he said. “I enjoy my job, and we still have a ways to go.”
Law enforcement head salaries for Okaloosa County municipalities:
●Crestview police chief: $73,630
●Fort Walton Beach police chief: $105,000*
●Niceville police chief: $72,675
●Okaloosa County sheriff: $136,500**
*Salary is for retiring chief; replacement range begins at $74,313.
**Salary established by Florida Legislature
Sources: Respective law enforcement agencies
CHIEFS' SALARIES
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview mayor requests raise for police chief