Fayette City Marshal David Ford asked the city council to approve pay raises for officers just as the Board of Aldermen was finalizing the budget for the next fiscal year, and his department is amid a shortage of officers.

Right now, only six of the eight positions are filled. This does not include the Chief of Police, which is an elected position. And one officer is currently on medical leave for the next several months. The department has used its two reserve officers more often because of the staffing shortage. Reserve officers receive $16 per hour.

Chief Ford hopes increasing the starting pay from $19 to $20, and having the city pay full medical benefits will attract more applicants. He also asked for a signing bonus of $1,000, to be paid in full after 13 months of service and half after six months.

The city already approved coverage for academy costs for new officers entering the field. The sign-on bonus would only be for officers who have already graduated from the academy.

The city was required to pass its new budget by July 1, when the next fiscal year began. Should the requests be approved, it could mean the council would have to increase the department’s annual budget, which already commands around $750,000.

The city last raised officer pay in July 2022. Starting pay rose from $16 to $19 per hour. An additional $10,000 was also added to the department’s budget to help cover rising fuel costs.

Chief Ford’s latest request asks for full medical benefits coverage for full-time officers. Currently, the city pays around $450 per month for each officer, while the officer pays around $175.

“A lot of departments have gone to where they’re paying all the insurance for police officers,” Ford told the council during its regular meeting on Tuesday, June 25. “This is going to go a long way with trying to recruit. Right now, we have no possibilities of anybody wanting to come.”

Ford said he has asked officers in other departments to join Fayette as a Corporal, which would pay $24 hours.

“None of them are interested,” he said.

Chief Ford said the hourly increase, while slight, would bring the Fayette in line with other nearby departments.

Mayor Greg Stidham said the proposal would be included on the agenda for the next meeting. The council did not discuss the matter at a special meeting on Monday during which it passed the fiscal year 2024-25 budget.