Raleigh police officers, firefighters to protest outside city hall over pay proposal
This story was updated on Monday, April 18.
Members of Raleigh’s police and fire departments are planning a protest Tuesday to push for higher wages for everyone, and not just new recruits.
The protest and a press conference will be held at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday before the City Council’s 1 p.m. meeting. Both the Raleigh Police Protective Association and the Raleigh Professional Fire Fighters Association have members who plan to attend the event.
“The City of Raleigh has claimed this to be ‘The Year of the Employee,’” according to the poster for the event. “Their actions do not match their sentiments. They have fallen short in pay, retention and benefits.
“Make no mistake, this is a public safety issue for the residents of Raleigh,” according to the poster.
On Monday, the city of Raleigh announced its Tuesday meeting would be virtual.
Pay raise in the works
The Raleigh City Council heard from city staff about raising the pay for fire, police and emergency communication to be more in line with the Wake County average for those first-responders.
Normally the city has compared the pay to other larger cities in North Carolina and surrounding states, but have faced criticism for not keeping up with pay from neighboring jurisdictions.
City staff is recommending bringing people to the Wake County median, plus 6%.
If the Raleigh City Council approves that plan, there would be raises for 106 police, 133 fire and 7 emergency communication employees.
Here’s a look at how some of the salaries could change:
- Firefighters’ current pay range is $39,200 to $63,377. That would go up to $46,540 to $73,620.
- Police officers’ current pay range is $42,300 to $68,389. That would go up to $50,301 to $77,791.
- Telecommunicators’ current pay range is $38,248 to $65,821. That would go up to $44,358 to $71,716.
The overall cost to fund those changes is $1.9 million.
The other employees could see a merit-based pay increase, and, on Tuesday, the Raleigh City Council will consider a 2% cost-of-living raise for all city employees.
‘Failed strategies’
The police protective association criticized the salary proposal, calling it a “failed strategy.”
“The city is doubling down on failed strategies to recruit and retain Raleigh Police Officers,” according to a post on the association’s Facebook page. “These failed strategies have led us further in the hole for staffing, causing safety concerns and a decreased level of service. The city believes in giving raises to entry-level new recruits with veteran officers expecting only meager raises. These recruits will in short order surpass their veteran peers, if they decide to stay with the department.”
Both associations have raised concerns about the city’s ability to recruit new police officers and firefighters.
In a recent budget work session, City Manager Marchell Adams-David reported the fire department previously had 58 vacancies but is now down to two.
“Recruitment is really not an issue in the Raleigh Fire Department, at all,” she said. “I wish that was the case in the Raleigh Police Department. But really, we don’t have a recruitment issue in the fire department.”
There are 168 vacancies in the police department, she said.
This story was originally published April 15, 2022 at 4:05 PM.
