Proposed public safety pay change draws flak

Union chief: Plan falls short in tackling pay inequities.

A proposed change in the way Cobb County’s public safety officials are compensated has come under crit- icism from police and firefighter representatives.

Under the so-called “step and grade” table presented to county commissioners in October, public safety employees would receive a 3% “step” increase each year. The 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 sal- aries by 9%, to $45,775 from $41,615, and double the sal- ary increase for a promotion from lieutenant to captain: to 20% from 10%.

Commissioners are considering two versions of the plan. Implementing the plan under existing salaries would cost $4.5 million, but a version to automatically give employees a “step” increase would boost 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 lon- ger 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.

Interim Public Safety Director Randy Crider has recommended that the commission approve a 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%.

Crider said the new com- pensation 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 OK’d 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.