The council unanimously decided to pay for the officers' retirement in the earlier meeting, but the emergency meeting had to be scheduled because of timing. The Legislature only allows cities to join the state's noncontributory system when a bill is sponsored about every four years. The council opted to decide before the end of that window and most of them said that no better option had been presented.

Council members Steve Turley and Midge Johnson reversed their original vote in support after hearing emotional testimony from disgruntled firemen and city workers who think they are being treated unfairly.

"Very few choices do we get that are good versus evil or black versus white," said Turley moments before he raised his hand in opposition. "This is so complex."

Since the decision to spend more comes when the budget is already set, the city plans to pay for it with the money it would have spent on about eight extra officers who have not yet been hired. It will cost about $500,000 more annually.

Some city employees in the crowd left the meeting shaking their heads in disappointment.

"I don't know why firemen are so upset about this," said Jim Guynn, Provo fire marshal. "It's a scoop of soup for everybody. If it doesn't hurt us — and it doesn't, from what I've heard — so it's fine that the police get it."

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E-mail: jhancock@desnews.com