Dodd seeks pay increases to avoid losing officers

When it comes to making sure that the county has quality police protection, Polk County Police Chief Kenny Dodd feels that there is no substitute for experience.

Yet since he took over in 2007, he’s continuted to face a difficult problem: officers who have spent years on the force are leaving for better paying positions elsewhere in the area.

Leaving the police department in a position with officers sometimes having to learn on the job.

“I can’t replace the knowledge, the training and experience that I’m losing,” he said.

Dodd also faces another problem: his criminal investigation division needs another detective, but so far no interest has been shown from within the ranks.

Why?

Dodd admits its pay problems in both cases.

He said in the case of detectives, his department has struggled to bring on a new investigator due to a overlooked problem in pay scale. Because patrol officers work 12 hour shifts, they technically make more than the detectives starting out on only 8 hour shifts.

Dodd said he believed patrol officers who might be interested in the position have been scared away due to the loss in pay they would have received if they stayed as patrol officers.

His solution, and one that didn’t require any approval from the Polk County Board of Commissioners for the time being is to increase the Criminal Investigation Division’s work week to 42 hours, a necessary move to “equal out the pay scale.”

“I plan on doing this and still coming in under budget,” Dodd told the county’s public safety committee last week.

His second request – to increase the hourly rate of 10 patrol officers on the force to $14.45 an hour and make their pay the same as Polk County Sheriff’s deputies – requires more discussion.

Commissioner Jason Ward, who was on hand for the meeting, said that in his discussions prior to the proposal with Dodd the conversation always turns back toward what can be done in the short term to ensure officers who have gained experience on the job stay within the department.

“There’s no silver bullet to this problem, to doing something to try to get patrol officers feeling like they don’t have to go elsewhere,” Ward said. “We don’t want to lose 65 percent of the department because the pay is too low.”

That figure – the 65 percent – is the 28 officers who have left since 2007 out of 44, the other third of which were fired by Dodd in the intervening years.

The question remains for county officials and commissioners is how to pay for any pay raises now and in the future.

County manager Matt Denton’s greatest fear is increasing hourly rates for officers to the $14.45 an hour baseline now will be impossible to keep if money can’t be found in the coming fiscal year.

“Taking it back is a problem if the money isn’t there,” Denton said.

Commission chair Stefanie Drake Burford agreed a solution needs to be found, but wasn’t sure where money could be taken from the coming year’s budget.

She agreed however with Ward and Commissioner Jennifer Hulsey in the committee meeting the full board should discuss the issue, which they planned to do Monday night following press time.

“We have to find the money to fund public safety,” Hulsey said.