A Times Editorial

Pay police officers respect

People who pay taxes expect their money to go for a variety of needs, from educating their children to paving their roads. But ask any adult what their top priority is for their tax dollars and invariably they'll say public safety.

In times of emergency, the public expects to have police, fire trucks and ambulances responding. We can all endure a road with a pothole or two, but we can't live without the safety net that the men and women in the public safety departments provide.

That makes last week's decision by the Inverness City Council on pay for the city's Police Department curious and disheartening.

The members of the small department had asked for a significant raise of 8 percent. In a time of fiscal austerity at all levels of government, that may have been a reach. But consider that their salary level is $21,800 a year, regardless of seniority, and the request no longer seems unreasonable.

That pay level was only achieved through a generous bump of $3,500 the previous year, which boosted their pay from the paltry amount of $18,322. Even in a county with a service-based economy, where many workers earn minimum wage or slightly higher, that's an embarrassingly low amount to pay people who put their lives on the line each day.

The police officers, through their union, have tried to work with the city. The two sides negotiated for four months before deciding to leave the matter in the hands of the council. The police officers walked a picket line recently, not on strike or to try to pressure the city, but to alert the city taxpayers of their plight. They have taken all of the appropriate steps to state their case in a professional manner.

The decision by the City Council on Thursday, however, borders on an insult to the officers.

The council decided the officers were worth only a 1.5 percent raise, with the possibility of an additional half-percent merit raise. While giving the officers a few bucks with one hand, the council members took money away from them with their other hand.

The small raise will give the officers only another $400 in pay (before taxes), but they now will have to pay all of their dependent health care costs, about $900 a year. The result is that, even with a raise, they are worse off financially.

City leaders said the budget is tight, other expenses are rising and they can do no more for the men and women in uniform. No doubt the first part of that is true, but it just raises the question of why meaningful raises weren't factored into the equation when the city's budget was being crafted?

Money doesn't grow on trees, of course, and budget builders on every level of government have been challenged for the last few years to make do with less revenue. That situation won't be changing any time soon. The demands for government services will continue to grow while the current philosophy in Washington, Tallahassee and even on the local level is to cut taxes.

It comes down to priorities. Inverness leaders, like their government counterparts elsewhere, must balance the needs of the community with the funds available.

At the top of the list should be public safety. Residents may be willing to postpone some capital improvement projects a bit or forgo purchasing new computers or a tractor. But they expect a professional police department, one that is compensated accordingly.

Just as teachers don't go into their line of work to get rich, law enforcement officers don't put on the uniform expecting to live lavishly. They answer to another calling. While it's true that no one forced these men and women to take these jobs, the residents of Inverness are all better off because they did.

The council and city staff should take another look at the city's budget, find some additional money for the police officers, and acknowledge their dedication by paying them a living wage. It's time for the city leaders to take care of those who take care of the residents every day.

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