Priorities in New York City

Which is more important? City Council staffers getting raises or NY Police Department raises? In a recession? Well, the police department is putting a hold in grade promotions, but the City Council, which sets the city's budget, is more than happy to provide raises to staffers.

Despite the city's dire fiscal situation, the City Council doled out 90 staff raises this year, with one aide getting a $20,000 increase even though his title did not change, The Post has found.

A review of council salaries from fiscal years 2008 and 2009 show 64 staffers got double-digit increases in pay. Kenneth Mitchell got a bump from $95,976 to $115,976 when he worked as chief of staff and general counsel to Councilman Michael McMahon (D-SI) Mitchell did not return calls

The Post does not provide the total amount of money involved from these raises, but it could have gone to the police officers deserving of promotions.

The police department is putting the promotion freeze in place as a cost cutting measure:

In the first three months of the year, just one cop has gotten a discretionary promotion -- compared to 180 in the same period last year, records show.

This affects all promotions up to the rank of chief that do not require passing a civil-service test. For example, when a detective third grade is promoted to second grade, the pay jumps from $80,000 to $92,000 a year. A promotion to first grade nets a $104,000 salary.

The moratorium also affects raises for sergeants and lieutenants on special assignments that pay more.

Sources say the discretionary promotions are on hold until the department's fiscal year ends in July. With the force thinning its ranks by 5,000 officers over the last six years, there's little room to slash jobs, so the NYPD has to find other cost-saving measures.

So, at a time when the NYPD is looking to cost cutting measures, the City Council is finding new ways to spend limited tax dollars.

Still, that isn't to say that the NYPD and the police union are completely without blame for the current budget crisis; union benefits have cost the City dearly over the years and the unions aren't particularly willing to give up those benefits, even when the City can ill-afford them.

These are also costs that the federal stimulus package wont entirely cover, and wont be available in coming years because the stimulus is a one-shot, and the City will have to come up with the money in coming years (at a time when it can't come up with the money now, nor can it make the necessary cuts to the city workforce and reduce spending).