Council member Tina Clay asked the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office on April 15 whether private funds can be used to supplement the salary of Jackson’s newly hired police chief, RaShall Brackney, Magnolia Tribune reported.
The request came about three weeks after the City Council voted 6-1 to hire Brackney, with Ashby Foote casting the lone no vote, Magnolia Tribune reported. Clay said she later learned Mayor John Horhn told Brackney her annual salary was $150,000, making her the highest-paid city official; council members had believed the starting pay was $133,000, the report said.
At a March 10 council meeting, members voted 5-0-1 to legally give Brackney a higher salary; Clay abstained while Foote was absent, Magnolia Tribune reported. Brackney began work April 1. Her $150,000 base pay is $25,000 more than the next-highest city department head, Lorenzo Anderson, who leads public works. Council member Kenneth Stokes was quoted saying, “We can’t get a Cadillac paying for a Volkswagen,” Magnolia Tribune reported…