Philadelphia Sheriff Rochelle Bilal requested $2 million from City Council last week to fill 79 vacant deputy jobs. “Our office is consistently under-funded, and this jeopardizes the lives and safety of our sworn and civilian personnel,” Bilal told City Council. But new reporting suggests Bilal recently diverted funds intended to do just this. Citing city records and an internal memo, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Bilal rerouted hundreds of thousands of dollars meant to hire more staff to fund hefty pay rises for her executive staff. She also reportedly tried to increase her salary by 109 percent which, if she had succeeded, would have made her the highest-paid elected official in the city at $285,000. Bilal declined to comment Monday on the executive raises or her testimony to City Council.
