Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced Monday that the city will increase police pay by 30 percent over the next three years.
“This is an unprecedented step to improving public safety in our city,” Bottoms said.
Starting in January, the city will add $10 million toward paying officers' salaries. The increase will provide some cops with roughly an additional $10,000 more a year. The city will provide two more $10 million increases in both its fiscal 2020 and 2021 budgets.
For years, the Atlanta Police Department has lagged behind other cities in police pay, leading to high resignation rates and difficulties in recruiting new officers, said Police Chief Erika Shields.
Bottoms’ plan to increase pay will effectively end those problems, Shields said.
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