Richmond Mayor L. Douglas Wilder said today that City Council will be to blame if Police Chief Rodney Monroe leaves for Charlotte, N.C., where he's one of three finalists to become police chief.

At a news conference Wilder praised Monroe for reducing crime in his three years here and said the chief has made it clear that the city's working environment in Richmond, not money, would be the reason he would consider leaving.

Wilder, who has been fighting with City Council on the limits of his power and other issues, said Monroe enjoys the support of the city administration, citizens and business leaders, but not of City Council members.

He said City Council has slashed the police budget in each of the three years that Monroe has been chief and he criticized a majority of the current council members for giving former Police Chief Andre Parker a $100,000 severance.

"For what?" Wilder asked. "No questions asked. . . . What do they do with this chief? Slash his budget. Cut it. Make him beg."

That simply isn't true, council responded in a release that shows a $20 million increase in the department's budget from 2005 through the current fiscal year.  The proposed police budget for the next fiscal year would rise an additional $2.5 million, to more than $79 million.

    "Council praises Police Chief Rodney Monroe for his outstanding leadership of the Richmond Police Department and the job he has done on behalf of the citizens of Richmond," spokesman Steve Skinner said.  "Council offers Chief Monroe its continued support and hopes that he will continue to serve as Richmond's Police Chief."

Wilder, who refused to take questions, criticized council members because he said only one of them showed up at a community event in which Monroe's accomplishments were celebrated.

Wilder said council members also criticized raises offered to Monroe and other senior administration officials, and he brought up comments attributed to Councilwoman Ellen Robertson, in which she said criminals shouldn't be running city government.

Robertson in March was quoted in a Style Weekly article as saying criminals shouldn't be hired to run the city. Asked in the article if she meant Hill-Christian, she said yes, but then later retracted the comment and apologized. The article centered on the ongoing tension between some council members and the Wilder administration over whether money has been legally spent according to council-enacted ordinances.