Spring Lake police officers getting a 20 percent pay raise

The Spring Lake Board of Aldermen unanimously voted to increase police officer pay by 20% during the March 11 meeting.

The town of Spring Lake has been in the news due to Spring Lake Police Chief Dysoaneik Spellman’s exit from the police department.

It is unclear why Spellman left. In his resignation letter, he said he "forged friendships with many of my co-officers and citizens in the community that will last a lifetime." The March 11 meeting directly followed his departure.

The pay increase at the Spring Lake Police Department must be approved and signed off on by the Local Government Commission before it can take effect.

“One of the things that Chief Spellman was working on with me and with the command staff — we had a meeting the other night — it’s more like a retention, I want to call it, a retention pay hike for PD,” said the current Spring Lake town manager, Jason Williams, during the public meeting.

When questioned by Spring Lake Mayor Kia Anthony about how these raises might impact the town’s annual budget, Williams said that the Police Department budget will likely not be affected as it will take time to get officers trained, stating that he will provide figures to ensure the Board of Aldermen is comfortable before moving forward.

According to Williams, the town of Spring Lake has money in the budget to sustain the 20% raise for all members in the Police Department from patrol to detective, except for administrative employees and the chief, who is salaried.

Mayor Pro Tem Sona Cooper asked for further clarification about how this raise will reflect on the 2024-2025 budget and if adjustments would need to be made, to which Williams responded that “there would be a readjustment for the starting pay because the starting pay would change to match.”

“Congratulations,” Anthony said after the vote. “Again, I wish we could’ve done this sooner. Thank you for your continued service and patience.”