The Davidson County Fraternal Order of Police is commending five Metro Council members who have expressed opposition to the tax incentives offered to Amazon to bring their new hub to Nashville.

Next Tuesday, the council members will present a resolution to request that the government refrain from providing economic incentives to Amazon unless government employees, like the police and fire departments, receive their cost of living adjustment.

The FOP said in a statement Wednesday that Metro employees should come before any corporate welfare program.

The Fraternal Order of Police was pleased to learn that Amazon, in their selection of Nashville as a finalist for their new facility, had recognized what Nashvillians have always known. That Nashville is a safe, vibrant and welcoming city with an enormous potential for future growth. However, as were many citizens, we were disappointed to learn that this selection came with incentives that included $15 million dollars in corporate welfare to this multi-billion-dollar corporation. Nashville is a truly great city and we are surprised that there is a perceived need to bribe corporations to bring their businesses to our community. Continuing to give these handouts to private companies place an unnecessary burden on the Nashville community and its employees. Especially in a year where employees were once again told that the promised cost of living adjustments would not be honored in the budget. If Nashville cannot afford to fulfill the promises made to the hard-working employees of the metro government – the very employees who are responsible for the thriving, safe, and vibrant environment that attracts companies like Amazon to our city – can we really afford millions of dollars in corporate giveaways? We commend Councilman Glover and the co-sponsors of this legislation for recognizing that metro’s employees should come before any new corporate welfare programs. We call on Mayor Briley, Vice Mayor Shulman, and all of the remaining members of the Metro Council to support this legislation. After years of frozen increments and failed promises to these hard-working men and women, we are no longer able to accept the fact that existing commitments to metro employees are ignored while our leaders seem all too eager to extend new commitments that do not include Metro’s workforce.

Amazon is expected to receive $15 Million in incentives. You can read the full resolution here.