Council rejects officer’s pay hike

The Clarion-Ledger, 12/19/7

The Jackson City Council on Tuesday dealt a double blow to Mayor Frank Melton, axing his former bodyguard’s pay raise and refusing to hire outside legal council to represent him in two lawsuits.

Michael Recio’s salary was officially reduced on a 4-3 vote from the $70,289 he was given in early October when Melton named him assistant police chief back to the $41,761.20 he was paid as Melton’s bodyguard.

Voting along the same lines, the council also refused to hire Jackson law firm Coxwell & Associates, which represented the mayor earlier this year in a criminal case.