In an effort to improve officer retention, the Piedmont City Council, on Tuesday, raised the starting salary for the Piedmont Police Department.
Certified officers will now begin at $15 per hour, up from $13.48, while uncertified officers will see an increase from $11 to $13.40 per hour.
Losing valuable trained officers to departments which offer higher pay has long been a problem for city leaders.
“What we have been is a training ground,” said Mayor Bill Baker, adding “we train them and then they go to other cities.”
Police Chief Freddie Norton said that the city currently has 10 officers, down from about 16 when he first arrived on the force. He added that the department needs 12 officers in order to effectively police the city.
With a full staff of 12 officers, the city will eventually pay an additional $16,610 per year for the increase.
According to Norton, the pay raise, which will only affect about 5 officers currently on staff, will finally allow Piedmont to be more competitive with surrounding agencies.
In other business, the council agreed to purchase a new street sweeper from Tymco in Birmingham on the condition that city officials can negotiate a reasonable price by offering to pay cash for the sweeper, which lists for $129,000. The currently sweeper, purchased in 1993 and currently in severe disrepair, can potentially be sold as surplus.
Bills for payment were approved in the amount of $950,254.23.
The next regular Piedmont City Council Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, December 6th following the work session, which is set for 5:30pm.