Mayor reinstates copper plaques for TPD retirees
Reporter: Justin Shecker
Web Producer: Mekita Rivas
TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - After the mayor's office announced it would stop honoring city employees with a "Copper Letter" of recognition when they retire, the Tucson's Police Officer's association relayed that message to the public on its Facebook page.
"The city doesn't always react to things very quickly," said TPOA President Bill Bonanno
But after more than 600 likes and 90 comments, 24 hours later the mayor Jonathan Rothschild changed his mind.
He commented on the TPOA Facebook page:
"I've read the comments here, as well as those I've received by email, and I have decided to continue paying for retirement plaques for all city departments out of the mayor's office budget."
"I'm sure it caught his attention," Bonanno said. "What I'm more encouraged about is he is listening to not only us, but his community -- that's 3,000 people, it's not all just cops."
When they meet later today, Bonanno said he hopes the mayor will listen to other concerns with budget talks coming up shortly.
"Our men and women have not seen merits for several years at this point, but we surely won't go into in-depth negotiation at this meeting," he said.
Bonnano added that officer pay matters more than paying for the copper plaques, but he's glad the mayor recognized what the small token of appreciation means to city workers.
"For 50 to 60 dollars a plaque, I think that's a small price to pay to say thanks."
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