Aug 18, 2022

Fraternity of Police protest outside St. Joseph city hall over pay concerns

Posted Aug 18, 2022 12:45 AM

By TOMMY REZAC

St. Joseph Post

The St. Joseph Police Department is 39 officers short, as they've struggled to recruit and retain officers with some leaving for other cities. The Fraternal Order of Police, NWMO Lodge #3, says the staffing shortage creates an unsafe community.

FOP members were outside City Hall Wednesday, protesting while off-duty, asking for more pay to better recruit officers and to make the city a safer place.

A fully staffed shift at the St. Joseph Police Department includes 15 officers. Right now, the department is averaging nine officers per shift.

For the last two years, the FOP has negotiated with the city for pay increases. The city has offered to increase starting wages to $49,000 to properly compensate recently hired officers and attract new ones.

The previous council approved a pay plan with a 3% cost-of-living-adjustment increase and incremental decompression increases from 3.5% to 2.5% to 1.5% over three years.

To get a better sense of employee salaries, the city conducted a pay study. That study shows that starting police officer salary should be increased from $42,695 to $48,348.

The FOP members are asking for what the pay study said they deserve, which is $48,348 for starting officers and a maximum salary of $72,000.

The city has also offered to increase current officer and detective compensation, based on length of service. On average, this offer would increase the annual salary of officers, detectives and sergeants by more than $5,100.

The city sent out a statement Wednesday in response to public concerns regarding St. Joseph Police Department compensation.

According to the statement, less than two years ago, the city  and the FOP entered into an agreement under which officers, detectives and sergeants would receive annual wage increases of 3% per year and those employed before October 2017 would receive an additional 7% increase over three years.

The statement also said the city remains committed to compensating its commissioned law enforcement officers fairly, but that the plan must be sustainable.

Although the city agreed to pay $49,000 for starting officers, $700 more than the pay study recommends, the FOP is concerned with compensation based on length of service.

The FOP says a statement from the city did not mention that 4.5% of the $5,100 annual increase was already approved by the council and took effect in July. The FOP also says "the city's offer for current experienced law enforcement was a minimal amount above currently schedule pay increases."

FOP also says the city plan is spread over 29 years with an average increase of $811 per year to reach the top of the pay scale, while their current pay structure is based on a 17-year plan.

The city’s pay study never specifies a duration of time to reach the maximum salary of $72,000.