The Cobb County Board of Commissioners decided 3-2 Jan. 23 to pay more to Cobb Police sergeants and lieutenants.
In support were Commissioners JoAnn Birrell, Bob Ott and Bob Weatherford.
Opposed were Commission Chairman Mike Boyce and Commissioner Lisa Cupid with Boyce saying he objected to using one-time money for this purpose.
Weatherford said, “Retention is our issue. We’re going to lose them to other agencies. Officers, with less tenure, are being paid more.”
The increased salaries will go into effect Feb. 25 - at the same time as increased salaries are expected to be in place for Cobb Sheriff deputy sergeants and lieutenants.
These increases will correct pay inconsistencies that began when the pay and classification study was implemented in June, said Cobb Public Safety Director Sam Heaton, resulting in “some pay inconsistencies between existing police sergeants and lieutenants once the first sergeant was promoted under the new pay grade system.”
The approximate annual cost of this salary adjustment will be $841,000 and should be added to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Budget, he added.
The cost for this adjustment for the remainder of FY18 will be $495,000 to be payable from reserve school bus funds, Heaton said.
About the Author
