A proposed change in the way Cobb County’s public safety officials are compensated has come under criticism from police and fire fighter representatives.
Under the so-called “step and grade” table presented to county commissioners earlier this month, public safety employees would receive a 3-percent “step” increase each year. One sticking point is that the annual raises would not be automatic— they would only be paid if the commission approves them each year as part of the budget.
The “grade” part of the plan would increase entry-level salaries by 9 percent, to $45,775 from $41,615, and double the salary increase for a promotion from lieutenant to captain — to 20 percent from 10 percent.
Commissioners are considering two versions of the plan. Implementing the plan under existing salaries would cost $4.5 million, but a version that would automatically give employees a “step” increase would increase the cost to $9.4 million.
The proposed change does not go far enough to address pay inequities that have compounded over many years, said John Brady, president of the Cobb County Professional Firefighters union. He said the proposed change would hurt employees who have been with their departments for longer periods of time because it doesn’t account for years of experience.
“It’s been so out of whack that people … are not getting the proper raise, Brady said.
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Interim Public Safety Director Randy Crider has recommended that the commission approve basic version of the plan that would cost $4.5 million next year. It is unclear what impact the proposed changes would have on the county's pension system, which an AJC investigation last year found to be funded at just 52 percent.
Crider said the new compensation plan is just one step the county has taken to address the long-standing pay and benefit disparities among Cobb's public safety employees. County leaders in May approved a one-time, $1,475 payment to public safety employees as a first step in address recruitment and retention concerns.
Commissioners in July approved the county’s 2020 budget, which included a 7% raise for certified and sworn public safety employees. That budget also set aside money to cover monthly dues for Peace Officers Annuity & Benefit Fund and the Georgia Firefighters Pension Fund, Crider has said.
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“The step and grade was only a portion of the package we want as a final solution, if you will, to the challenges we are currently facing here in Cobb County,” Crider said. “We still have work to do.”
Union officials have presented commissioners with an alternate plan that Brady said would bring longer-serving employees into a more appropriate pay grade.
Crider said some details of the proposal might change in coming weeks as he works through concerns raised by commissioners and rank-and-file public safety employees. He also said his office is working on additional incentives that it hopes will help stop the exodus of police officers leaving Cobb.
“We have work to do if we are going to find a solution to our officers leaving for other departments,” he said.
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