Mayor, city council chair meet over police review board

TAMPA (FOX 13) - The numbers are still up in the air, but at least the air seems to be clearing between Tampa's mayor and the chairman of the city council over what has become a very contentious issue: the Police Citizen's Review Board. Friday afternoon, the two power brokers met in a closed door meeting at city hall to kick around some ideas.

"Hopefully, this will be the starting of a line of communication and hopefully we will be able to reach that compromise that is not only good for the mayor, but good for the city," Reddick commented.

The one-on-one meeting comes almost two weeks after a public one that was exploding with emotion.

"No compromise," chanted protesters. The meeting got so raucous, city council members left the room until people calmed down.

The biggest disagreement is over numbers. The mayor wants an 11 person board. He has suggested that he appoint five members and one alternate, and the city commission appoint four members and one alternate.

"I am not going to divulge our conversation, but there are a number of ways to work these numbers," the mayor told reporters.

One thing was clear.  At the conclusion of the Friday meeting, there was still no agreement. Reddick suggested increasing the size of the board so that the city council and possibly the mayor could both appoint more members - an idea the mayor opposes.

"I told him I am not comfortable moving beyond 11, just because it makes it unwieldy," said Buckhorn.

Although nothing is etched in stone, both men seemed to leave upbeat.

"I made a lot of progress when I had the opportunity to walk into his office," said Reddick. "That's the first step."