Mpls. City Council advances police chief nominee, expands MPD retention pay
MINNEAPOLIS -- Minneapolis police say they need two things right now: more officers and a new police chief.
The Minneapolis City Council voted on both issues Thursday morning.
It was a unanimous vote by the council to move the mayor's police chief nomination forward. Mayor Jacob Frey last week announced Brian O'Hara, the deputy mayor of Newark, New Jersey, as his nomination for the next Minneapolis police chief.
The council approved the nomination to move on to the Public Health and Safety Committee, which will hold a public hearing in the coming weeks.
Another vote of significance was the expansion of the police retention pay to all Minneapolis Police Department employees. Earlier this year, the council approved $7,000 in bonus pay for all sworn MPD employees who are part of the union and still active employees through the end of the year.
Thursday, the council expanded on that to give the same incentive payment for sworn MPD employees who are not part of the union.
This is an effort by the city to give a one-time reward to officers who stay on the force during a time when many are leaving. Retention is just as important as recruitment as MPD is down hundreds of officers right now from where they should be.