Firefighters OK four-year pact

I'm not a tax professional either, but my understanding is that since it is apparently added to a specific check (is that correct, LMPD guys?) that it makes your income for that check much higher, and pushes the entire check into a higher bracket. You may get some back at the end of the year, but not much, I would think. Never could figure out why LPD/LMPD guys though they were "getting something" by getting the clothing allowance money, if, in fact, you would go to a quartermaster system, and allot, say, each officer $1000 a year, and just have them buy items per purchase order, you'd get a lot more for the money. (Say you need a jacket - look at a catalog of appropriate gear and decide which one you want, request a PO, trot down to the supply store and pick it up. If you want to get stuff like socks and tee-shirts, develop a mechanism to get reimbursed upon submitting receipts up to a certain amount. I see a lot of LMPD officers wearing gear and uniforms that are worn out, and I'm sure they are trying to hoard their uniform allowances to spend on other things.

But then, I'd also insist upon less expensive uniforms, I was amazed to learn what the uniform supply stores charges for some of the stuff LMPD requires.