Arnold Police Chief Brian Carroll has received a $13,045 pay raise.
Carroll, who took over as chief in April 2022, recently accepted a new contract City Council members approved following his request for a new agreement.
The new deal raises Carroll’s annual salary from $146,955 to $160,000, an approximately 8.8 percent increase, according to the latest contract.
“I’m very grateful that our elected officials approved the new contract,” said Carroll, 53, of Imperial. “It’s an honor to serve the city of Arnold. I appreciate the mayor and council’s continued trust and support. I look forward to building on the progress we’ve made together.”
Along with the pay increase, the city agreed to fully cover retiree health insurance coverage for Carroll until he is 65 or qualifies for Medicare. The coverage will be the lowest level plan available to city employees, and Carroll may choose to pay additional costs for a higher level plan, including family coverage, himself, according to the contract.
The new deal also says Carroll will receive an annual cost of living increase equal to other city employees, starting in 2026. Carroll’s contract is scheduled to automatically renew on June 17 every year, unless the deal is terminated.
City Council members voted unanimously during a closed June 17 meeting to offer Carroll the new contract.
“We had a good discussion and everyone came to an agreement,” Mayor Bill Moritz said. “I was very pleased (the council’s vote) turned out 8-0, and everyone came to an agreement with it.
“It wasn’t everything that he (Carroll) asked for. He asked for more money and almost lifetime medical coverage. We couldn’t give all of that. He was asking for the moon, and we got him about halfway there.”
Carroll said he requested a salary increase after the city increased police officers’ salaries over the last two years, but Carroll only received cost-of-living raises, not the larger ones like other officers received.
In 2023, Arnold city officials and members of the Eastern Missouri Coalition of Police Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 15 agreed on a new two-year collective bargaining agreement that increased officers’ salaries by a total of 30 percent over a two-year period.
Carroll is not a union member, so he did not get those raises, which were just for officers, corporals, sergeants and lieutenants. Those officers and ranked personnel received 20 percent pay increases during the 2023-2024 fiscal year that ran from Sept. 1, 2023, through Aug. 31, 2024, and another 10 percent raise this fiscal year, which started Sept. 1, 2024, and ends Aug. 31.
“All our sworn personnel have been very fortunate to receive competitive pay increases over the last two years,” Carroll said. “This has been extremely helpful in attracting very qualified candidates to our department. It has also helped retain our experienced officers and lower turnover.
“Since I am not in the police union, I did not receive similar compensation. When my contract was set to renew, I felt it was important to ask for some changes to the current contract.”
Carroll said the city has 57 officers. The Police Department also has eight full-time and four part-time civilian employees, and an annual budget of approximately $10.2 million.
Arnold increased police salaries after residents voted in April 2023 to approve a 1-cent sales tax to help fund the Police Department. The city was projected to receive $8,254,824 in revenue from the public safety sales tax this fiscal year, according to the 2024-2025 budget.
Carroll
Carroll has been with the Arnold Police Department since February 2000. He was promoted to corporal in December 2006, sergeant in November 2011 and lieutenant in June 2016 before rising to the rank of major in 2017, according to the city’s website, arnoldmo.org.
Carroll said he has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Radford University in Virginia, and he received a master’s degree in criminal justice from Michigan State University in East Lansing, Mich.
Moritz said Carroll has been doing a good job leading the Police Department.
“His officers like and respect him. He is a very intelligent and capable police officer,” Moritz said. “I think he has the best interest of our city at heart. I can’t say enough nice things about the guy.”
Carroll said he believes the Police Department has improved in a number of areas since he became chief.
He said he is proud that Arnold Police publishes an annual report highlighting how the department operates; has applied for and received grants to stay up to date with technology, such as Flock license-plate reading cameras; has provided three school resource officers instead of one for the Fox C-6 School District’s schools in Arnold; has restarted the Police Explorer program; has partnered with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office’s computer forensics program; has updated officer’s body cameras; and has purchased new vests for patrol officers.
Moritz said one of Carroll’s best qualities is his ability to explain the Police Department’s needs to council members.
“He talks to us because we are not cops,” Moritz said. “He explains some of the things his department does, what they do and some of the equipment they need to have. Those kinds of things are important to me.”
Carroll said going forward, he would like to improve the department’s community engagement. Arnold Police recently started a Popsicle in the Park program that calls for officers to hand out free popsicles from 10:30 a.m. to noon every Wednesday through the end of July.
“I feel it’s very important for the community to know and trust our officers,” Carroll said. “We need a strong partnership between our staff and the people they serve. Look for us to host more informal public events and to continue to build on our current programs.”