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Police commissioners can now set salaries with new law

Gov. Matt Blunt (L) presents St. Louis Police Chief Joe Mokwa with a copy of Senate Bill 1086, which made the change in state law on Wednesday. (UPI Photo/Bill Greenblatt)
Gov. Matt Blunt (L) presents St. Louis Police Chief Joe Mokwa with a copy of Senate Bill 1086, which made the change in state law on Wednesday. (UPI Photo/Bill Greenblatt)

By Kevin Lavery, KWMU

St. Louis, MO. – The St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners now has local authority to establish the salaries of its officers.

Missouri Governor Matt Blunt signed that provision into law Wednesday in St. Louis.

The new law gets rid of a maximum compensation table that could only be approved by the Missouri legislature.

Now, the city police board can establish pay on its own. Those commissioners are still appointed by the governor, and Blunt says he believes there's no need to give total departmental control to the city of St. Louis.

"I think we have a good governance structure in place today; I think it works, I think it works well," Blunt said. "I think there's a good relationship between the mayor's office, my office and the commissioners."

Both city and state leaders laud the action, saying it takes politics out of salary issues and will make the department more competitive with other Missouri jurisdictions.

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