At the City of Miami's Budget Meeting last week, a large crowd of incensed Coconut Grove residents asked for more police officers, they demanded it in light of the uptick in crime around the Village, which has spread to The Roads and other areas of Miami. It was standing room only in the Commission Chambers, literally you could not fit inside the big glass doors.
In the end, the City's budget passed with a 3-2 vote. Commissioners Willy Gort, Frank Carollo and Michelle Spence-Jones were in favor, and Commissioners Marc Sarnoff and Francis Suarez voted against it.
Grovites asked that $10 million of the budget go to hiring 100 new police officers for the whole city. One issue is that police budgets and salaries have been cut for current police officers, and they were there in force (no pun intended) to demand a return of their benefits and salary before any new officers are hired. Which begs the question, are the underpaid cops not as efficient due to malaise? Would giving their benefits and salary back increase their morale and then give them more gumption to deal with the increased crime in the Grove?
I'm not saying they are not doing their jobs, but low morale is a big issue.
These cops wore yellow shirts at the meeting which read, “You Can’t Hire 100 New MPD Cops If You Can’t Take Care Of The Ones Already Here.” That's true, isn't it?
Now, I am on the Grovites' side, I would love to see more police on the streets and in the neighborhoods. I would love to see this crime wave end. I also would love to see our underpaid police force treated fairly when it comes to salary and benefits.
City employees ended up receiving a one time 3 percent bonus. That still doesn't solve the problem.
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