Pevely city officials hope a salary increase for the Police Department’s patrol officers and sergeants will help them recruit personnel to fill open positions, city officials said.
The raises take effect Jan. 1.
Citing a serious lack of staffing in the Police Department, the Pevely Board of Aldermen voted 7-0 on Nov. 4 to increase the hourly pay rate for patrol officers from the current $22.94 to $25 and for sergeants from $28.55 to $31.55.
Ward 4 Alderman William Brooks, who did not attend the Nov. 4 meeting, said he wholeheartedly supports the pay increases since the Police Department has been shorthanded for quite some time.
When at full force, the Police Department has 15 officers but has been operating with nine for a while, he said.
“There has been a disappointing loss in staffing,” Brooks said in a recent interview. “We have a staffing shortage at the Police Department and are trying to attract people to be part of our community.
“We are struggling to hire law enforcement officers. I wish there was a way we could attract, recruit and retain police officers. Hopefully, the new pay raises will help attract interest.”
Brooks said the police staffing shortage is a serious problem, but believes the law enforcement officers currently serving the city are doing a good job.
“My heart goes out to those guys because they’re working almost day and night,” he said. “I don’t see public safety as being compromised. That’s a testament to our law enforcement we have currently.”
In addition to the shortage of patrol officers and sergeants, the Police Department has been operating without Chief Mark Glenn for an extended period of time.
City officials have not explained why Glenn has been absent for a while, but in a Nov. 12 email, Pevely Mayor Stephanie Haas said. “Thank you for your concern in this matter. At this time all I can confirm is the chief is out and we do not have a date of return. As information is available, we will let you know.”
The Leader has been working on this story since Nov. 5, but has had difficulty getting information about Glenn’s absence, the police pay raises, the number of police officers on staff and other basic information because of a lack of response from Pevely officials and staff.
After failed attempts to get the information, the Leader submitted a Sunshine Law request on Nov. 27 asking for it and received the following response from the city: “We will strive to complete this request no later than Friday, December 27, 2024.”
The city had rejected a prior Sunshine Law request from the Leader for the information stating the requested items were not documents.
Brooks complained at the Dec. 2 meeting about the city’s lack of transparency and later provided the Leader with information about the police pay and staffing.