Hire ought to show he’s worth the pay

When someone says it’s not about the money, well, you know the rest of that line. Robert Jones, who is the current police chief in Kingsland, Ga., was here for three days a couple of weeks ago interviewing for Pine Bluff’s top cop position. During that time, on at least a couple of occasions, he said God had led him to Pine Bluff’s doorstep, calling the idea of coming the result of much prayer. Money? Nope, that was not what was motivating him, being as how what he was getting paid in Georgia was not much different from what the Pine Bluff job paid.

That was then.

Mayor Shirley Washington said as he was leaving town from his three days of interviews and show-arounds that she would get with the search committee and quickly make a decision. According to one member of the committee, the meeting never materialized, but Washington went ahead and offered Jones the job. Well, it is her call as to the person who is hired.

Now he has asked for more money. The current police chief, Kelvin Sergeant, makes a bit over $90,000, but Jones is now asking for $115,000, which the mayor called “problematic.”

So while it’s not all about the money, at least some of it is. As one search committee member noted, surely, Jones knew what the position paid after spending three days in town.

We can’t fault someone for getting as much as they can. With most hiring situations, that moment is the time to fight for one’s future paycheck because after that, raises may be small or nonexistent.

On the other hand, we liked what several smart people have suggested and that is to dicker a bit with the potential new hire. Specifically, they suggested a performance bonus in the way that bank presidents and football coaches are rewarded. Start him at a number close to or below that of Sergeant’s pay, but attach bonus pay for reaching certain benchmarks.

Jones talked a lot about putting together partnerships. Figure out a way to measure that and reward him for pulling those together.

Crime is broken up into different categories, such as violent and nonviolent crime, and then all of the subcategories fall under those headings. Pull some of those together and give him a bonus for reducing them. It’s what he said he wanted to do.

Jones was also asked how he would measure his own success. The first thing he said was that he wanted the Pine Bluff Police Department to do what was necessary to become accredited by state and federal policing organizations. If he reaches one or both of those, he gets a bonus.

Let’s not just rain money down on this new person. If he’s worth the additional pay, and he very well may be, let him show us by his leadership and performance in getting things done.

Today, a City Council committee will be considering a proposal to raise the budgeted amount of pay the police chief can receive. Instead of just grumbling and rubber stamping that increase, council members should treat this like the CEO position that it is and give this new executive an incentive for stellar performance. If he’s good, he’ll get what he’s asking for.