Raises may be on the way for DeKalb police officers and firefighters, who have long complained that pay is a primary reason the county losing public safety employees to nearby departments.
The DeKalb Commission plans to vote Thursday on a $1.32 billion annual budget that includes pay raises of at least 4 percent for public safety, sanitation and watershed employees. In all, about 2,800 government employees — nearly half the county's workforce — would receive higher paychecks starting in May.
The pay proposal comes after a study showed that the county pays entry-level public safety employees less than other metro area counties and the city of Atlanta, with starting salaries in DeKalb averaging $38,626 for police and $33,502 for firefighters. The DeKalb Commission Budget Committee approved the raises Wednesday.
“We’ve gone through some tough times here in DeKalb County,” said Commissioner Sharon Barnes Sutton, the chairwoman of the Budget Committee. “We’re able to right the ship. We’re able to do more and do better.”
But Commissioner Nancy Jester said the $5 million worth of proposed pay increases doesn’t go far enough. She plans to introduce an alternate proposal that would include about $10 million in funding for raises, merit promotions and new hiring.
“These changes fall far short of where we need to go, and there’s still too much bloat” in the county’s budget, she said. “This sends the wrong signal to our public safety employees. We need to send a clear and unambiguous signal, and this isn’t it.”
The minimum raise would be 4 percent, and government employees who are currently paid below proposed pay ranges would receive a larger increase.
Interim DeKalb CEO Lee May said some employees could see their salaries jump by 15 percent.
“This is nothing to sneeze at,” May said. “This is a tremendous movement from where they’ve been to where they’re going, and I think it makes a major statement.”
May initially wanted the county to wait until its pay study is completed this spring before deciding on salary increases, but is in favor of the proposed raises. Additional raises will be discussed when the DeKalb Commission reviews the county government's midyear budget in July.
All DeKalb employees received a 3 percent raise in 2014, but before then they hadn’t received an increase since 2007. Police and fire employees also received a one-time 3 percent bonus in 2013.
“It’s a step in the right direction anytime they see we need to put more money toward public safety,” said Jeff Wiggs, president of the DeKalb Fraternal Order of Police. “If it’s just putting another Band-Aid on the problem, it’s not really fixing the problem. We need to fix the problem once and for all.”
Police officers who quit last year said in surveys they left the county partly because of pay, as well as a lack of take-home cars, safety issues and long commutes. Though DeKalb pays low-ranking officers less than other governments, salaries for experienced officers are more in line with market averages.
Firefighters trail the Atlanta market more significantly, according to county figures.
The raises will help recognize the value of county police officers, said Police Chief James Conroy.
“It’s a great step and a great show of support for public safety,” he said.
Funding for the raises would come from DeKalb’s reserve funds.
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