Greensboro City Council is hammering out a new budget. The proposal includes pay raises for police officers and firefighters.
Greensboro City manager Jim Westmoreland laid out a proposal for the 2017-2018 budget during a recent city council meeting. It includes a five percent increase for sworn police and fire employees.
The bump would mean a starting salary of a little more than $37,000 dollars for police and around $35,000 for fire department employees.
Larry Davis, the budget and evaluation director with the city, says compensation for public safety departments has been an ongoing discussion among city leaders.
“Recruitment, particularly in public safety is really more of a regional and national issue and it involves things other than starting pay or compensation, but that's certainly part of the conversation,” says Davis. We want to talk to council more about where think we are now and where we believe these salary increases will put us.”
A public hearing on the budget will be held on June 6. Davis says community meetings are also scheduled for May 30 and 31 at the Greensboro History Museum.
He says the budget proposal also includes a three percent pay increase for eligible city employees.
Greensboro's goal is to raise the minimum wage for all city employees to $15 by 2020.
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