No cuts for the cops

Clarification: I wrote on Friday that all but one Council member voted for the police union contract last year. But I should have noted that Mike Siegel, Krista Laine and Marc Duchen were not yet in office when the contract was approved.

The big police contract Council approved last year includes a provision allowing the city to make "proportionate" cuts to police compensation in the event of a failed tax rate election, but it appears unlikely that the cops will be forced to make any concessions in the short-term.

You see, the contract says that following a failed TRE, it is up to the city's chief financial officer to "determine any proportionate reduction necessary."

On Friday, CFO Ed Van Eenoo published a memo "certifying that no proportionate reduction to the agreement ... is necessary."

In explaining his decision, Van Eenoo noted that City Manager T.C. Broadnax had already proposed a balanced budget without making changes to the police contract.

I'm not going to pretend to be a contract expert. I imagine if City Council tried to override Van Eenoo's decision the police association would file a grievance, perhaps forcing Council to undo yet another budget.

But I think it would be naive to view the memo as a dispassionate finding from an objective civil servant.