Police push pay boost to keep officers LUBBOCK/Council puts decision on raises on hold until mid-May a , Firstappeared on lubbockonline.com “ey &36am. Monday. BY ELLIOTT BLACKBURN AVALANCHE-JOURNAL Lubbock will hunt better balance in May between crime- ridden streets and protection it may ill afford, Police received a warm but fruitless welcome at city hall Monday as they continued their push for significant pay increases. Officers filled city council’s early morning public comment | period with requests for a fF 15 percent pay i 1 | increase they Ew believe will help Gilbreath Lubbock keep enough officers to _protect.the-city, oa) sit cS oScephe’men arid women crowd |” ing the chamber’s seats and lining its walls quietly emptied the room after the council put off until mid-May any decision on salary and benefit commit- ments made three years ago. Recruitment efforts have not produced the number of acad- emy graduates needed to keep the department fully staffed. Lubbock remains 60 officers and $3 million short of its au- thorized force, the Lubbock Professional Police Association said. safety concerns.. But the Lub- bock Professional Police Asso- ciation believes the department SEE POLICE, PAGE A4 Staffing levels had not causedPOLICE: Mayor says 15 percent increase unworkable, but open to other options FROM PAGE Al could face that problem in a few years, and better salaries the best way to preserve its force. “We need to keep these of- ficers here, and quit training some of the police officers other departments Lubbock police Detective Donny Davidson, a former as- sociation president, told the council. The council quickly ap- proved a contract with The -Avalanche-Journal for re- eruiting videos and advertis- ing. Members offered lengthy praise to the skill and dedica- tion of Lubbock’s officers. The council voted 6-1 to ta- ble the matter, with members have,”” seeking better numbers and a clearer picture of the budget they will debate over the sum- mer and into the fall. “T think the delay is just an attempt to sit down with the police department and see if we could get on the same page,” Mayor Pro Tem Jim Gilbreath said. The association points to a 2006 ordinance, authored by former councilman Gary Bo- ren and returned to the agen- da Monday by councilwoman Linda DeLeon, that set a goal for firefighter and police sal- ary and benefits “within the top 10” departments in the state. Dueling spreadsheets on Monday ranked officer pay at 43rd in the state or as high as No. 2, depending on the author. Settling how to define the 10 cities that make a fair comparison, and how to deter- mine what benefits and perks police enjoy, will dominate _ talks over the next two weeks. DeLeon, the lone dissenting vote, called Mon- day’s continuance “an embarrass- ment and a shameful move” after the meeting. “Do you suffer the conse- quences?” DeLeon said. “You ean lose a lot of officers by the actions of this council.” Councilman Paul Beane, DeLeon whom the police association endorsed in his council cam- paign last year, said the money police deserve sat somewhere between their request and city figures. “I’m hopeful that we can find the money for a raise for our police,” Beane said. “Because this is an issue that we’ve got to address, and that’s the possi- bility of losing dozens and doz- ens of officers to retirement in the next few years.” Mayor Tom Martin called the 15 percent inerease unwork- able, but remained open to other ideas more suited to the current economy. “The want is there,” Martin said. “It’s the ‘can’ that’s a problem.” He considered ranking Lubbock against other “full- service” cities — not bed- room communities — a fairer measure of the department’s needs. The gloomy assessment of Lubbock’s pay includes small, affluent towns in the Metroplex with different needs. . “T think it’s disingenuous to try and compare us that way,” Martin said. The city should also con- sider superior cost of living and police use of city vehicles with the insurance, fuel and maintenance coverage at- tached, he said. “We're comparing ourselves to who we're working against,” said Lubbock police Detective Brandon Price, association treasurer. “These officers who have a license can go anywhere in the state, and we can’t make them stay.” 2 The association was not de- manding a raise, he said. But officers were already looking at other cities. Price had not spoken with any residents opposed to the proposal, though he under- stood some families faced tough times, he said. “Tf they need a solid job and to make more money, they can eome and apply,” Price said. “Because we're hiring.” To comment on this story: elliott blackburm@ilubbockonline.com # 766-8722 walt.nett@lubbockonling.com ® 766-8706