At those meetings, some residents expressed concerns that the expense of enacting the lengthy list of reforms would lead to the city’s dissolution — fears that were only heightened by a presentation from Ferguson’s finance director, Jeffrey Blume.

Of the decree’s more than 450 provisions, one requires Ferguson to develop a plan to offer police salaries that are among the “most competitive” with comparable agencies in St. Louis County.

Blume said the city had interpreted the provision to mean that Ferguson had to give 25 percent raises not only to police officers but all employees — raising the cost of abiding by the decree to $3.7 million in the first year.

But a Post-Dispatch analysis found that to arrive at that number, city officials appeared to have accelerated deadlines in the agreement, used inappropriate salary data and ignored the context of the “most-competitive” phrase.

Letter stresses collaboration