Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer has created a new director's position to deal with violent crime, drawing criticism from Metro Council Republicans who note the city already has a police chief and a director of public safety.
Fischer posted a job description Monday to hire a director of violence prevention who would report directly to him. It comes after a series of shootings this summer prompted Fischer to create a task force that made 42 recommendations to combat violent crime.
The position pays $70,000 to $90,000 annually.
Fischer said the first job for the new director will be to develop a plan, then work with people in government, nonprofits and the private sector to implement the recommendations, which include fostering more economic development in western Louisville, encouraging construction of more market-rate housing and initiating a robust early childhood education campaign.
"We've got to attack this problem all the way from prenatal care to offender re-entry into the community," Fischer said. "It touches multiple groups ... it's not just a police thing that we can arrest our way out of this situation. So this person needs to be somebody that understands that entire system, who can operate within government, within the private sector, but then also on the streets."
Council Republicans say there is a disconnect between Fischer's message that the city has a $20 million budget imbalance and his administration's creation of five new management positions since taking office in January 2011.
"I think we create positions just to create positions," council Republican Kelly Downard said. "We have a police chief. We have a chief of public safety. There are so many people already in the administration that do those things."
Steve Haag, a spokesman for council Republicans, said his caucus is concerned about how success will be measured for the person in the new position and how much overlap there will be with police.
"Everyone in the caucus pretty much shares Kelly's thoughts on this," Haag said. "How do you prove that this position has accomplished anything? That's where everybody is coming from."
Sadiqa Reynolds, Fischer's chief of community building, is overseeing the new hire and said the position will be funded by not filling vacant positions in other departments. She said it's unclear if the new position will become its own line-item in future budgets.
"We're looking at our agency funds to ... pay for this position," Reynolds said. "It's just a matter of what agencies it comes from. That's how we're going to start, and we'll re-evaluate. But what we're saying is: 'Let's get started.' "
The list of 22 job skill requirements for applicants include:
- Ten years of youth development program delivery and supervision, or violence prevention and intervention program delivery and supervision.
- Knowledge of the community's cultural and social needs.
- Knowledge of interest-based methods of problem solving, mediation concepts, collaboration techniques, group process and group decision-making.
- Knowledge of effective techniques for developing and implementing strategic change initiatives.
- Ability to develop, present and administer a budget for particular program areas.
- Ability to understand the life-long development process that recognizes the physical, psychological and sociological needs of individuals.
Council President Jim King, a Democrat, said Fischer should have the "latitude" to build the management team he needs. But King also said that everyone in the city has to "live within the constraints we have."
"And if there is a structural imbalance, the council will have to review positions when the budget comes over," King said. "We'd just like to hear more about why the (police) chief and the director of public safety can't manage the role in terms of violence prevention."
Two members of the mayor's task force say the position is needed.
Christopher 2X, who has worked for years as an advocate and spokesperson for crime victims, said of the new position: "I don't see how it can hurt."
"We've never had anything like that," 2X said, adding that since the city and county governments merged in 2003, "we've had 600 criminal homicides and 2,000 violent assaults. The plus here is that we're having a structured approach to deal with the root causes of that. I applaud that, and I don't see anything wrong with that."
Aubrey Williams, a criminal defense attorney who also was on the task force, said any city expenditure "that has the possibility of saving lives is prudent ... and should be applauded.
"I would assume the individual selected would ... come equipped with some credentials and make it more than just window dressing. I see nothing but good coming from that."
Fischer said the city can afford the new position, which he hopes to fill by early next year.
"There's been positions that have become vacant that we haven't filled. We've moved money around that way," Fischer said. "But when we have priories for the community, we're going to attack those priorities and figure out how to pay for it in the scope of the budget."