Daleville council OKs new police pay scale

In what councilmembers called a “critical action” the Daleville City Council unanimously approved a new pay scale for Daleville Department of Public Safety officers at the council meeting March 16.

The decision to give more competitive pay to the police officers was made after a work session March 15 during which DPS Capt. Allen Hendrickson and DPS Chief Allen Medley told the council that the Daleville law officers were among the lowest paid in Dale County.

Medley told the council that the Daleville DPS is the lowest paid in Dale County. “Well, right now, Clayhatchee is paying the same as us,” he said. The force is at 50 percent capacity on patrol.

“I will project that within six months you will not have 24 hours a day police coverage,” Hendrickson said, adding that he is not alone in working some 40 hours overtime each pay period. “Since December 2020, the officers in this room are averaging 35 hours overtime per pay period.

“I don’t know how many officers can continue to work like this if we continue on this path,” Hendrickson said. “We’re projecting some $90,000 in overtime this year.

“With the current pay scale, there is less than 10 cents between the pay of an officer and a sergeant. There is no incentive to stay once you are maxed out,” Hendrickson said. “If you go to this pay scale, we guarantee you that we could cut the overtime hours in half.”

The proposal presented by Hendrickson and Medley included a starting pay of $16 per hour for a certified police officer and $15 for a non-certified officer, $16.75 for a patrol sergeant, $17.50 for an investigator sergeant, $18.25 for a patrol lieutenant/code enforcement officer, $19 for an investigator lieutenant and $20 for a captain.

“I think we need to take a long hard look at this,” said Daleville Mayor Jayme Stayton. “Part of my job as the mayor is to make sure that the city is financially sound and that we don’t make rushed decisions.

“But in the situation like this where we are undermanned—and our police officers are giving their everything to the city of Daleville, I think we need to move our pay scale up for our officers to make them competitive, to give them a break.

“We have a problem now that needs to be fixed now,” Stayton added. “I think it needs to be done and it needs to be done right away.”

“There is no doubt their pay needs to be fixed,” McClintock, Nelson and Associates Certified Public Accountant Mark Nelson, who serves as city auditor, told the council. “There is no doubt that very few people want to do the job that they have to do, at any price, and that has to be fixed.”

Councilwoman Jo Reese made the motion to raise the police pay. “It is critical that we take action in order to protect the city of Daleville and to maintain the low crime rate that we have and to protect the safety of our officers and our public,” Reese said, thanking Hendrickson and Medley for their “succinct, well thought out” proposal. “We have to do it now.”

“I understand that this is urgent and we need to do it and I’ll support it because those officers can’t continue to work the hours that they are working and be viable protectors of the residents of the city,” said Councilwoman Katheryne Horace. “But it is very important that we present this as being urgent so people can understand why we are doing this.”

All the councilmembers expressed concern about the morale of the other city employees when a single department is given a pay raise. “I, too am concerned about the morale,” said Stayton. “I think that all the city employees deserve a raise, but I think, as of right now, they would be understanding that this is different because it is the police.”

The mayor and council were of the consensus that the issue of pay raises for all city employees will be revisited during budget meetings for the next fiscal year.

“I cannot thank the mayor and council enough for really hearing our presentation,” said Medley following the council’s unanimous affirmative vote. “I can’t say enough positive about Capt. Hendrickson for the presentation. I know he always says, ‘It was a team effort,’ but he did a lot of footwork in preparation.

“And, we thank the mayor and the council for letting us present our proposal to them and for them accepting it,” Medley said. “It means a lot not to just me but all the guys.”

Medley had high praise for his officers. “They have been busting their butts and I try to tell them every day ‘thank you’ because without them Capt. Hendrickson and I cannot do our jobs. “We’ve got a heck of a group of guys. I’m proud of them,” he added. “I’d put them up against anyone in the state. They are awesome.”

The next meeting of the Daleville City Council is at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 6, in the Daleville City Hall Council Chambers. The meeting is open to the public.