Union leaders typically negotiate raises for the rank and file that become public knowledge.
But in January, two high-ranking officials with the Fort Lauderdale police union got significant pay bumps, and not even the chief knew about it.
The out-of-the-ordinary raises, done outside the union contract, only recently came to light, city officials say.
Here are the details: Union President Scott Moseley got a 59% raise. His salary jumped from $112,923 to $179,524 — on par with the maximum salary a captain with the Fort Lauderdale Police Department can earn.
Scott Hoffer, the police union’s vice president, got a 34% raise. Hoffer’s salary rose from $112,923 to $151,548 — equal to the maximum salary earned by a lieutenant with the department.
The raises were neither approved by the union’s members nor the City Commission as normally required, Acting City Manager Susan Grant told the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
On Aug. 30, Grant rescinded both raises on grounds they did not adhere to the union’s collective bargaining agreement . Grant is conducting a fact-finding inquiry to determine whether to claw back the money.