FORT MYERS, Fla. — Fort Myers City Council members voted 4 to 3 in favor of renewing Fort Myers Police Chief, Derrick Diggs', contract for two additional years during Monday night's meeting.
A heated discussion between council members and community members broke out during the meeting. Some were in favor of renewing his contract, including Mayor Randy Henderson.
"When you go changing chief executive officers or leadership, top leadership, it always costs you more money. And there better be a good reason to do that. To jump. And here, we do not have a good reason," Mayor Henderson said.
Ward 3 council member, Terolyn Watson, said she believed his new contract pays too much. She also raised concerns about his spending on a city issued credit card.
Watson said, "Why would you even want to be the police chief here if you don't have the total agreement of the council?"
Watson also raised these spending concerns in a meeting last week, and asked the City Manager to investigate. Council members were split on the issue, voting 3 to 3, so the investigation did not move forward.
Ward 4 Council Member, Kevin Anderson, also said, "I feel bad that after nine months of being in this position that I can't stand up here and adequately defend this contract."
Fort Myers Police Cheif, Derrick Diggs, said, "I'm disappointed that we didn't get unanimous, but we're still going to do our job."
Digg's new contract states his salary will increase to more than $180,000 per year.
According to the Uniform Crime Report, total crime is also down so far this year in Fort Myers.
