A nonprofit formed by a supporter of Jackson Mayor John Horhn will donate up to $100,000 to the city to help recruit and retain senior police officers, city documents show. The City Council narrowly approved the agreement, which allows the funds to be used for executive recruitment, retention initiatives and “relocation or transition assistance,” according to documents provided to the council and reported by Mississippi Today.
The agreement says Jackson Rising will donate an initial $50,000 and pursue an additional $50,000, and that once the city takes control the money would become public dollars subject to state transparency laws, the documents say. The donor agreement also says the donor “shall have no authority to direct personnel decisions, compensation decisions, promotions, discipline or law-enforcement operations,” and that funds are not earmarked for a specific employee, the documents show.
The donation comes after Mayor John Horhn withdrew a proposed employment contract for Police Chief RaShall Brackney following council concerns. Mississippi Today reported the proposed contract would have included severance if Brackney were fired without cause after her first year, moving expenses up to $15,000 and a 90-day rental stipend. WLBT first reported that some spending areas in the Jackson Rising agreement overlap with benefits in the proposed contract…