KANSAS CITY, Mo. — With the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department's new recruit class and an upcoming police sales tax vote in Independence, KSHB 41 spoke with both cities about pay raises and what those could mean for recruiting and retaining new police officers.
For some, being a police officer is a lifelong dream.
“My dad did this for a long time, and I've heard all about it, so it sounds like an exciting job,” said Jayden McGinness, one of the 19 new recruits at KCPD’s first police academy class since the department approved a pay raise.
For others, money talks.
“A police officer you see on the street is making between $65,000 and $104,000 for a police officer rank, and then when they choose to get promoted and go through that process, they go up as well,” said Sergeant Gordon Herndon, who works in employment and human resources for KCPD.
Herndon says there’s been an obvious spike in interest since the pay increase went into effect.
“We're getting a lot of officers from the region that are applying to Kansas City,” Herndon said. “Obviously, it's a competition, and our pay is very competitive right now, and we're seeing that really pay off with the application numbers.”
It’s not just pay increases doing the trick.
There’s also no residency requirement for KCPD officers. Other departments, like Independence, are taking notice.
“It’d be very easy for someone to leave the Independence force, go work there, not have to relocate their family into Kansas City, and that’s really where the need came from,” said Zach Walker, Independence city manager.
Independence is proposing a 1/4-cent sales tax on its August ballot for police pay increases. Walker says so far, he’s seen no public opposition to the proposal, but the city still has to consider what happens if it doesn’t pass.
“We’ll have to either seek to immediately re-run this issue on the ballot and try to figure out with the community what the opposition was so we can address those concerns, or we’re going to have to go in and make some pretty significant and deep budget cuts to be able to afford to pay the salaries that we’ve now agreed to with our police union,” Walker said.
KSHB 41 reached out to other law enforcement agencies in the area, including the Overland Park Police Department and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department.
OPPD says they are currently down 38 officers, which is the same deficit IPD is facing.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department confirmed in a statement from Sheriff Darryl Forte its efforts to explore pay increase options.
“In April, the Executive Board of the Jackson County Deputy Sheriffs Association approached me, and we began negotiations regarding pay. Since that time, we continue to work together, and I am committed to exploring options for the sworn and civilian associates of the Sheriff’s Office.”
KCPD is past the decision-making process other departments face, but staffing is a universal police issue. But they’re happy to be a few steps ahead.
“I feel it everyday," Herndon said. "I know how it is to answer calls out there and not have the numbers that you really need. And it's really about just response time is one of the thing we think of. We want to get to the public as soon as possible.”
