Incoming Police Chief Wes Ellison of the Willow Springs Police Department recently appeared before the Willow Springs City Council to voice his concerns about retaining employees in his agency.
Ellison said it’s an issue Willow Springs Police Department has faced for awhile, as other area law enforcement agencies have increased starting pay for officers and begun offering other incentives. Some of those incentives, he said, include covering tuition costs for recruits to attend police academy.
He explained to the council that the Willow Springs Police Department is capable of employing eight full-time officers, which would give adequate coverage for the city. However, he said, the department only employs four full-time officers, including Ellison, with one officer possibly leaving.
The agency has one part-time officer who works three days a week due to the benefits package he receives from his current full-time employer; one reserve officer who only works Sundays; one reserve officer who works day shifts and some reserves only listed on paper.
Ellison said recent law enforcement tax increases that have passed voter approval in Howell County and other areas are allowing other agencies to increase their starting pay rates to $18 per hour.
“The problem is, now that Howell County, Texas County and a lot of cities around us have passed this law enforcement tax, they are able to raise their pay for starting officers, and we’ve lost a lot of our officers to Howell County, and just lost one officer to Cabool,” Ellison said.
The current starting salary for the Willow Springs Police Department is $17 per hour, depending on experience, he said.
Other police departments also offer incentives for officers, such as a sign-on bonus, vacation time and sick time when they start. Some departments also pay their officer’s academy tuition in exchange for a work contract, Ellison said.
“We have to find out some way we can retain these guys because we are bringing them in, training them using our manpower to bring them up to speed, and then they are gone,” he said.
COUNCIL DISCUSSION
Council members then delved into a discussion with Ellison regarding why officers are leaving the department and brainstormed ways the city could attract recruits and retain them as employees.
City Administrator Beverly Hicks agreed that the leading issue behind officers leaving the department is the city’s pay range but expressed concern about the fairness to other city employees if officers’ wages are continually raised as opposed to a companywide pay rate increase.
Hicks said last year, the city made a change in the budget, and “we were very proud where we had gone wage-wise there, with all the new guys right out of the academy making $17 per hour.”
“Then all of a sudden you turn around and Cabool goes to $18 per hour, Howell County goes to $19 per hour, so it’s a constant war, so you have to say when can you continue to do that,” she added.
According to Hicks, the sheriff’s departments aren’t in competition with other non-law-enforcement entities like the police department is in the city of Willow Springs.
“What I mean is they don’t have a water, sewer and electric department to make sure all those funds cover those departments,” Hicks said. “So when do you say how fair is that to the other employees that have been here for a very long time in other departments that are not making that much?”
Hicks acknowledge the pay issue is a problem, so staff have begun to talk about other incentives she believes would still have to be offered for all of the city’s employees.
“When you talk about coming on and having 40 hours of vacation that you are able to use six months down the road, that might be something to think about for the future,” Hicks said.
“I just don’t know, I think we’ve been trying to define the actual core reason behind why people leave, and that has been really hard,” she said. “So what can we do to make ourselves different than anyone else?”
SOLUTION-FINDING COMMITTEE
Council members and Ellison suggested covering the cost for officers to attend the police academy could be a solution to recruit and retain officers.
Ellison said he talked to West Plains Police Chief Stephen Monticelli, who said his department pays for its officers to attend the academy, and in turn, the officer signs a contract committing to serving the department for five years.
“They actually pay for their officers to attend the academy, which is $4,500. It’s a full-time academy, so it is three months cheaper than the sheriff’s academy, which I believe they are charging $5,000 or $7,000,” Ellison said.
Monticelli reportedly told Ellison no one has left the department and no one has put the department in a position where it had to dispute the contract.
Hicks said she is highly on board with paying at least a portion or all of the training for new officers because the city currently does that with employees of the city’s electric department.
She explained the city covers the cost of putting electric department employees through a program each year in which they train to be a journeyman.
“We need those people. That is an asset to the city for three years to come. But we had that issue where some of them have left. We also just started something with water and sewer with Missouri Rural Water, which is $3,600 a piece. It gets them everything they need by the time they get done, over two years,” Hicks said.
“I think the electric is $2,800 a year, and it takes them five years to become certified linemen. I think it should be no different with the police department if we are going to try to pull those recruits in, but I do believe we need to come up with some contract. I think that in terms of all departments,” Hicks said.
Hicks added that raising starting wages will not solve everything.
Alderman Kim Rich agreed and said it has to be a combination of good incentives and pay.
After further discussion regarding general interest in the profession, the council came to a consensus to form a committee to look into the issue of retention.
Alderman David Collins and Rich volunteered to form the committee to work with Ellison to find a solution and bring a report back to council at the next meeting June 20.
