Despite the fact that the total budget recommended by City Manager Tai Jaiyeoba is a whopping $749 million, police salaries were not increased to the level the City Council requested.
However, Jaiyeoba did find a creative way to eliminate the huge number of vacancies in the Greensboro Police Department. Currently, the GPD has an authorized force of 691 officers and has 571 sworn officers, which means 120 vacancies, although some say it’s really closer to 130.
If the City Council passes Jaiyeoba’s recommended budget, the number of vacancies will immediately fall from 120 to only 80. The recommended budget eliminates 30 officers and takes 10 sworn positions and turns them into nonsworn positions.
Voila, the Police Department will have 40 fewer vacancies on July 1 than it had on June 30 and the monthly reports on police vacancies will look much better.
Councilmember Hugh Holston asked if perhaps more positions could be eliminated from the GPD and save more money.
The GPD has been using the salaries for those unfilled positions to pay the massive amount of overtime required to keep officers out on the streets.
At least one councilmember was not pleased with the fact that, while the City Council asked that the starting salaries of police officers be raised to $57,000, Jaiyeoba chose to ignore that direction, only raising the starting salaries to $52,479.
Councilmember Marikay Abuzuaiter said, “I do have a major concern about the police salaries, because right now we are authorized 691 officers and we’re down to 571. That is 20 percent of our department and I think we all know that our top priority was public safety and making sure our community is safe. I know that on May 2 we voted to have the starting salary at $57,000 and, while I realize there are budget constraints, and we need to look at everything I sincerely hope that we can try to stick as close to that as possible.”
Abuzuaiter noted that a nearby municipality had just raised its starting salary for police officers to $60,000 and said that she didn’t want to lose any more officers to neighboring cities that were paying more.
Defunding without calling it defunding.. the citizens of Greensboro better speak up because when officers don’t get major raises they are going somewhere else.
Fire the City Manager and vote out any council member that falls for this.
Cutting numbers does not eliminate the need. You would still have a shortage of officers needed to police and protect the citizens.
It is obvious the city manager does not know what he is doing and is a “con artist” with his ideas and figures.
He clearly should have never been hired in the first place.
“It is obvious the city manager does not know what he is doing and is a “con artist” with his ideas and figures”
Actually, Jaiyeoba knows what he is doing because it’s coming from the City Council.
How about reducing the city manager’s salary, or even better, terminate him.
“Councilmember Hugh Holston asked if perhaps more positions could be eliminated from the GPD and save more money.“
Good Grief Mr. Holston! At least exhibit some good sense when you open your mouth. Sure, we’ll save some money in the short term, spend it on overtime, and then watch crime continue to rise while current Greensboro officers become even less incentivized while watching wages increase in surrounding communities. What a plan!
Somebody fire this city manager!!! He should never have been hired to start with, he was close to being fired by Charlotte, he lived in Union County because taxes are lower than in Mecklenburg county and he is not even a US citizen.
Somebody grow some and fire this man before he ruins Gboro . He was on the brink of being fired by Charlotte , he lived in Union county instead of Mecklingburg cause taxes are cheaper and he is not even a US citizen. He is defunding the police and our city council is letting it happen .
Mac, can you prove that the city manager is not a US citizen; this should be of great concern to the citizens of Greensboro.
Total BS. I don’t know who thought hiring this fool was a good idea. I’d like for him to explain just how this makes the citizens of Greensboro safer. I know that in South East Greensboro we rarely even see a police presence unless someone has been assaulted or killed, a bank or business has been robbed, or there has been drive by shootings. I’m not seeing any return on my extra tax dollars.
Sounds like a typical “D” making the report look better regardless of the recommended safety of our community.When compared to other police salaries in the area what a great way to motivate!
Our city’s safety continues to deteriorate. Almost all of our major roads in and around town have turned into “race tracks”. Shootings are happening almost daily with limited consequences. This Mayor and city council are letting us down as gangs and drugs flood into our city. Please know that Greensboro does not need to erode further and can be saved. Our city leaders can and need to get this Policing problem figured out QUICKLY!!!
City manager and the majority of city council do not care about our police department. When they or their family become victims then maybe they will see the importance of our police department. I do not wish that on them or their families..
How come only ONE city council member raised concerns?
We could hire more law-enforcement personnel, increase salaries and probably cut the number of major law offenders. INCREASE the penalty for abusers-speeders, drunk drivers, runners of red lights, not using turn signals, etc. The offenders should be paying for their actions; the innocent will feel safer in that we will be able to put more security on the streets and in dangerous neighborhoods.
Help reduce the law breakers and not make the innocent pay for the free room, board and amenities that are given to the criminals!
There are some countries that make the law breakers or their families pay for their room, board and amenities. Why are honest and innocent taxpayers paying for the needs of the guilty when they may not have some of the benefits they are paying for the guilty.
Instead of tv and recreational activities, let’s provide educational and vocational help. We could all benefit.
Soooo who are the officers that will cover all the new Short Term Stay complaints.Who are the officers that will police the Bryan Blved drag strip?Who are the officers that will respond to the shootings on Battleground Ave.?
Just checking Tai. You are an imbecile. There is a reason Charlotte dropped you.
Get rid of this no good City Manager. Imagine how much money that would free up to give law enforcement a decent salary.
Hey Council, doesn’t the city manager work for you? Tell him what to do. And Mr. Holston, why don’t we just eliminate all the police positions? You are proposing a 3/4 billion budget with another tax increase. Find money in other areas of the budget. I will just wait until June when you weak city council members vote the exact budget as proposed like the wimps you are. Stand up for your voters. Run the city. Or keep running it into the ground.
1.
The African Marxist City Manager has no authority do disobey instructions from his superiors, the elected councilmembers, who told him to increase police starting salaries to $57,000. This is pure insubordination, and even more imperious when Jaieyoba has proposed INCREASING the budget by millions.
2.
Dear Ms Abuzaiter: there ARE NO budget restraints in his budget. It exemplifies gross profligacy.
3.
Tai Jaieyoba was instrumental in the creation of a massive BLM (Black Lives Matter) mural in downtown Charlotte. He is a big supporter of that movement, and we all know how BLM feels about police. They want to defund them. Jaieyoba is doing his best to defund the Greensboro Police Department, and thereby cripple them. It accords with his Marxist vision for America.
Did our kind and generous city manager raise his own salary and all the other departments except the police officers???? I have been very concerned with this city manager we have hired and seem to have given a free pass to almost everything!!
Gee, I am smarter than Jaieyeoba. The best plan is to dis-band the police department completely. There you go; no more vacancy issues and look at the millions of dollars saved by not having a police department. NOT! Jaieyeoba I don’t know where you came from but I suspect you need to go back there. Your plan to reduce manpower is beyond a doubt totally foolish. The fact is this town needs more police officers.
Sorry. I can’t seem to bring myself to comment on this stupidity. Let’s create a new movement, stop paying our taxes to fund these idiots.
This city has it’s priorities in the wrong place if it’s more concerned about when I put my trash can out on the street and willing to fine me $25 if I do this as an elderly, disabled woman, than taking intelligent, constructive action about the chronic crime scene which is otherwise known as Randleman Rd. Ms. Sharon Hightower represents my district. I plea for the City of Greensboro to do everything they can to pay the brave men and women of the police force more than they are currently being offered or soon their ranks will be less than what they currently are through a combination of attrition, retirement and malaise. NOT only to mention a severe lack of public appreciation from the members of the public! Do we really WANT criminals running our society?
He was hired because he is black not because he is competent. People like this city manager is hired, creates chaos, struts around like a peacock, does his best to bankrupt the city, quits and then moves on to his next victim, confident in the fact that another city or government entity will be gung-ho to hire another smooth-talking Black.
I’ve never seen a municipality so antagonistic towards police, fire, and public safety personnel as Greensboro. Well with the possible exception of Portland and Seattle. John, is it true the city manager is not an American citizen? I thought that would be a pre-requisite
Tai Jaiyeoba is an American citizen and, unlike the intergovernmental relations manager he hired, Tai voted in the primary, municipal and general elections in 2022.
He has become a US Citizen. He was born, raised, and spent his early adulthood in Africa (mostly Nigeria).
I will like to thank everyone for their suggestions! But remember you are out of power, and that’s Probably a permanent fixture! The protest is cute and all but we will take it from here.
Thanks for your opinion, BlackCity.
You’re pretty cute too.
I agree with everyone about everything. As a police officer, I would go where I was treated best; and it ain’t here.
Go back and watch previous city council meetings…..the police chief put forth the idea to reduce the number of authorized officers and convert 10 positions to non sworn positions. He was speaking to council on the current state of the police department. This would allow the city to use the already budgeted salaries of those vacant positions to to give officers a raise. He said that he was willing to make this sacrifice with the understanding of council, that once they were able to get recruitment and staffing where it needed to be, he could come back and request those positions be reinstated. He said this request was one of the only things he could offer up to help get his officers better pay.
It was a pretty good move by the chief to get his officers more money without costing the city additional funds. The money is already there, approved, and funded so it would have been ignorant for the city manager not to include the proposal in the budget.