The incoming chief of the Los Angeles Police Department will earn more than Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, leaders in New York and Chicago (the nation’s two largest police departments) and even the president of the United States.

The Board of Police Commissioners, the LAPD’s civilian oversight body, recommended paying Jim McDonnell an annual salary of $507,509; this is much more than the chef he replaced, Michel Moore. salary offerThe bill, introduced Thursday, is expected to be discussed at next week’s Commission meeting and still requires City Council approval.

The compensation is at the top of the salary range that Bob Murray and Associates, the Northern California firm that conducted the nationwide head search, announced months ago for the position. The half-million-dollar figure represents the base salary McDonnell offered and does not include benefits or possible bonuses; It also excludes any pension payments he collected from previous law enforcement stops.

McDonnell did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment through a department spokesman.

As the broader debate over police spending continues, pay is certain to face resistance.

Last year the council approved a four-year package. raises and bonuses It comes over objections from critics who say the deal is too expensive and would eliminate payment for basic services for rank-and-file police officers.

It was McDonnell appointed He ran for the chief job last month, beating out two other finalists for the job: LAPD deputy chief Emada Tingirides and former assistant chief Robert “Bobby” Arcos, who works for the LA County District Attorney’s Office.

McDonnell Appeared before the council’s public safety committee On Tuesday, he will answer questions about his views on immigration, traffic enforcement and unarmed alternatives to police responses. Following a public comment period dominated by speakers opposed to his appointment, the committee voted 4-1 to forward his name for consideration by the full council on Nov. 8. If confirmed, McDonnell will be sworn in on November 14.

He has been working at USC for the past several years, where he directs the school’s Safe Communities Institute. Records released by the city show McDonnell also disclosed that he operated a consulting company that generated between $10,0001 and $100,000 annually.

Predecessor’s salary was also examined. When Moore was first hired, his base salary from the Police Department was $350,000. But he collected nearly $600,000 in total after enrolling in a controversial retirement plan known as the Deferred Retirement Option Plan, or DROP, that pays veteran police officers and firefighters nearly double the salary for the final five years of their careers. Moore retired briefly before taking over as chief, receiving a lump sum retirement payment of $1.27 million from the city.

Historically, some LAPD chiefs have earned more than their civilian boss, the mayor. Even with the extra zeros in his bank account, McDonnell still won’t be the highest-paid executive in the city.

General Director of the Department of Water and Energy Janisse QuiñonesMr. Weiger, appointed this spring, will earn $750,000 a year; that’s nearly twice as much as his predecessor, Marty Adams.

Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, a Washington-based police think tank, said the LAPD chief’s job “traditionally has one of the highest salaries, if not the highest, in the country.”

About three-quarters of police departments in major cities have seen a change in leadership in recent years, Wexler said, as police budgets remain flat or increase in cities across the country.

“Police officer salaries have increased nationwide, driven by a significant increase in retirements and resignations,” Wexler said. “So overall policing pay has increased exponentially, so I would say chief salaries have increased at the same level.”

A 2021 PERF survey found that about 7% of 335 chefs surveyed reported an annual salary of more than $250,000.

According to reports, the salaries of the New York Police Department’s last two permanent commissioners were approximately $243,000. Chicago Police Department chief Garry McArthur earns about $260,000 a year, according to city records.

By comparison, whoever wins the presidential election, Kamala Harris or Donald Trump, will receive $400,000 a year to serve as commander in chief of the United States.