ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. — The Elizabeth City Police Department currently has close to two dozen vacancies. That's the most in the department’s history, according to city staff.
City leaders are hoping to stem the shortage with more money. The City Council this week approved a plan to give $6,500 raises to new recruits. It follows a similar raise to other classes of officers last year.
“We’ve lost several applicants due to not meeting sufficient pay,” said Deputy Chief James Avens. “We’re competing with surrounding agencies that are paying a lot more.”
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Before the raises, recruits made $33,187. Now they will start at $39,680, according to a city memo. Five of the 12 recruits hired over the past year left for higher pay elsewhere, staff said in the memo.
The funding for the mid-year raises will come from unused salaries from vacant positions.
Avens said the department has had to be creative in how it works to keep streets safe and crime down, while being without so many officers.
"We would love to get back a full force. We would love to get our pay up,” he said. “But the impact officers are working more hours having to cover shifts, making sure we have shift strength making sure we have off duty assignments to get covered”
The department will have another vacancy in May: Chief Phil Webster is retiring. He said dealing with the personnel shortage in Elizabeth City has been one of the bigger challenges in his decades-long career.
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“It’s something that’s in the back of your mind, but definitely with Elizabeth City, it’s more of a challenge as far as personnel or the lack of personnel in the agencies,” Webster said. “It’s definitely something we can overcome and rebuild the agency.”
Avens said offering higher salaries not the only strategy to recruit and retain officers: they're attending job fairs and checking with other police academies across the state for recruits. The department is also offering signing bonuses, as well as bonuses for candidates with advanced degrees and those who speak other languages.
Nevertheless, department officials say to keep pace with other agencies. They may have to ask city leaders for another pay increase at some point in the near future.
