THE ISSUE: The Post’s story indicating that the city’s puppeteers are paid more than rookie cops.

Would someone please ask Mayor Bloomberg when the last time was that a puppeteer was shot, stabbed or sued during the course of his duties entertaining the children of New York (“Lynching Rookies, Cont’d,” Editorial, March 14)?

The paltry sum paid to NYPD rookies would be laughable if it wasn’t so tragic. Apparently, the puppets have a better union.

James Haynes
Warwick

****

Why should it surprise me that puppeteers make more money than rookie cops? Everyone seems to make more than cops these days.

The NYPD has every mayor since David Dinkins to thank for starting this insulting trend of little or no raises, year after year, and the taking back of what we already had.

Every young person out there should seriously take note of all this information before filing to take this job.

Joseph Cavaliere
Valley Stream

****

Nassau County pays its cops $21,000 to start, yet it regularly snags veteran officers, detectives, sergeants and even lieutenants from the NYPD because it provides higher wages and better benefits to veterans at the top of the scale.

The city needs to recognize the key role the police play in the success of the city and pay all cops, from rookies to chiefs, the quality salary they deserve.

Jerry Kane
Brooklyn

****

If paying new officers more would make the city worse off, take a chance and don’t do it. The city will pay with rising crime rates and bad publicity due to non-honorable characters being hired who will disgrace a sacred and essential job.

Rookie cops cannot afford to pay rent and go to a movie, but they are praised as New York’s Finest.

It’s embarrassing to be associated with a city that pays more for a puppeteer than for those who deal with the worst of the worst.

Timothy Jaycox
Hartsdale

****

The PBA would be happy to budge in the current round of negotiations if only the city would bargain in good faith.

When one side puts up an offer and pretty much tells the other side, “take it or leave it,” that’s hardly good- faith negotiating.

Nick DiPalo
The Bronx

****

Enough with the PBA- bashing already. Your editors only need to look across the Queens border into Nassau County to see that starting pay does not affect hiring.

Without a competitive top salary, the NYPD will continue to scrape the bottom of the barrel of the candidate pool to get anyone to consider a career with the NYPD. It’s a crying shame, considering that New York City is the greatest city and financial capital of the world.

Paul Bookman
Selden

****

The blame for the lowered starting salary lies squarely with “Team Bloomberg.”

They repeatedly demand that city workers fund pay increases through concessions. Instead of crying foul and blaming the PBA, this administration and its supporters should be celebrating their victory.

Rather than ask, “What’s the union holding out for?”, The Post should wonder why Team Bloomberg is complaining in the first place.

To demand concessions for such “raises” is insulting enough, but blaming cops, on whom those concessions were imposed, is a downright disgrace.

Daniel O’Grady
Lynbrook

****

This is what happens when you have a multi- billionaire businessman elected as mayor. He has lost touch with the poor- and working- class people.

Once the benchmark of law-enforcement agencies, the NYPD is now having a hard time filling its ranks.

New Yorkers have to ask themselves: Do we deserve overpaid puppet-masters or police officers?

Woody O’Rourke
Marine Park

****

Repeating City Hall’s propaganda doesn’t make it true. The city sought and obtained reduced starting pay from every city union in the last round of bargaining.

The city proposed reducing starting pay for police, and the arbitrator granted it. Now the city blames that for its inability to recruit.

The PBA helped raise starting pay in a previous arbitration, yet even when the starting salary was nearly $40,000, the NYPD couldn’t fill a recruit class because the top pay was way too low.

At top pay, a New York City cop earns $59,000, while other local police earn between $68,000 and $94,000. Nearly 1,000 experienced cops a year quit for better paying jobs.

Making police officers’ top pay competitive satisfies the requirements of the Taylor Law and solves the recruitment and retention problem. Just increasing starting pay does neither.

Patrick J. Lynch
President, PBA
Manhattan