DOJ agreement could cost Ferguson $3.7 million in first year

FERGUSON, Mo. -- Ferguson's cost of implementing reforms spelled out in a consent agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice could approach $4 million in the first year alone, according to new estimates that raise questions of whether the community can afford it.

The city council in the St. Louis suburb is expected to decide today whether to adopt the agreement. If it doesn't, the Justice Department could file a federal civil-rights lawsuit.

Ferguson was thrust into the national spotlight after the fatal police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown.

The community faces a high financial burden either way -- fighting the lawsuit likely would cost millions of dollars.

Brown, who was black and unarmed, was shot to death Aug. 9, 2014, by white Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson during a confrontation in a street. The shooting sparked unrest, deepened scrutiny about police use of force and law enforcement's interactions with minorities and led to a Justice Department investigation of Ferguson.

Wilson, who later resigned, ultimately was cleared by the Justice Department. The agency concluded evidence backed his claim he shot Brown in self-defense after Brown first tried to grab the officer's gun during a struggle through the window of Wilson's police vehicle, then came toward him threateningly after briefly running away.

A March report by the Justice Department was critical of police practices and a profit-driven municipal court system. After months of negotiations, a consent agreement was announced last month that envisions a top-to-bottom reshaping of basic practices such as how to conduct traffic stops and when to use force.

Since then, estimates about how much it will cost were mostly guesswork, ranging from $500,000 to $1.5 million for the first year.

But Ferguson officials Monday posted an analysis on the city's website showing the cost estimate to be much higher -- between $2.2 million and $3.7 million for the first year, and $1.8 million to $3 million in each of the second and third years.

Ferguson already has a $2.8 million deficit, largely because of the fallout from the shooting -- overtime costs for police during protests, lost sales-tax revenue from businesses damaged in fires and looting, legal costs and lost income from municipal court reforms.

The consent agreement calls for Ferguson to pay the cost of a Justice Department monitor for at least three years; increase diversity training for officers; and purchase software and hire new staff to maintain statistical analysis of police data on arrests, traffic stops, use of force and other police actions.

Mayor James Knowles III said a particularly costly provision calls for Ferguson officers to be among the highest-paid in the St. Louis area. City leaders interpret that to mean police salaries should be in the top 25 percent among comparable cities. To get there, the average pay and benefits for each of Ferguson's 50 officers would rise by $14,600 annually.

Knowles said city policy is to grant pay parity for police and firefighters. And city leaders must decide whether to grant raises to other workers if police and firefighters get higher pay. The $2.2 million first-year cost at the low end of the range would occur if pay raises are limited to police.

"That's why we continue to talk to the Department of Justice," Knowles said. "We need clarification on things in that agreement."

Other cities that have faced Justice Department scrutiny have been forced to pay millions, too.

Last year in New Mexico, the Albuquerque Police Department agreed to a settlement that followed an investigation showing a pattern of excessive force. The first year of reforms could cost up to $6 million.

In Cleveland, an agreement with the Justice Department requires a new use-of-force police policy and enhanced officer training. City spokesman Dan Williams said it will cost Cleveland at least $10.6 million in the first year and $7 million for each of the subsequent four years.

But Ferguson, with 21,000 residents, is far smaller than Cleveland or Albuquerque -- and less able to absorb the cost. Ferguson's total annual operating budget is $14.5 million.

The city is asking voters in April to approve property and sax tax increases. Even if both are approved, Knowles said, non-police job cuts may be necessary.

Several residents at two public forums last week urged the City Council to vote against the agreement. They fear it will bankrupt the community.

Knowles says the council won't let that happen.

"I don't see the city agreeing to something we can't afford," the mayor said.