By Paige Nash
The City of Springhill Council met for a workshop last Thursday, Jan. 4. Utility write offs, audit reports and possibly hiring a new officer to join the Springhill Police Department (SPD) were among the items being discussed, but the most contentious item agenda included pay raises for SPD officers.
“We are not just concerned with police officers,” said Mayor Ray Huddleston. “We are concerned with anybody that works for the City of Springhill.”
According to the mayor, some department raises have already been discussed with a few other upcoming meetings scheduled with the remaining department heads to come in the next week.
Council member Derek Melancon pointed out that he is currently putting the finishing touches on a pay schedule for all city employees based on experience and incentives.
“It has been a lot of work because we are trying to cross what we have used before with something more that is easier to use and more accurate,” said Melancon. “It is going to allow for those things. The pay for police officers has changed. This is a better program. We want to make sure they are competitive with the market so that way we can get some quality people.”
But according to SPD Police Chief Will Lynd, he currently has six officers that are long overdue for a pay increase and if they do not see one soon, they may be hitting the road.
Lynd said, “I am so short-handed right now. I put them off for a month because the council asked me to hold them off for a month. It’s my fault. I should have brought them to the board the last 2-3 years. If you give them a raise across the board, that is great.” He continued by asking, “Can we take care of these six officers?”
Huddleston stated he would rather wait until Melancon makes the final adjustments to his pay schedule.
Melancon agreed, “I just feel like we are going to give them a better option here and I realize they have been waiting and I understand, but I want to make sure they are fairly treated and given the best and most amount that we can afford to give them without breaking the city, but it’s the council’s decision.”
He also stated that it may be a good idea to meet with each department head to discuss in detail their individual budgets, so they have a better understanding of where the money is coming from and where it is going.
“The council here is responsible. I want to do what’s right for our employees. Without them, we are nothing,” said Melancon. “Police officers probably have one of the hardest jobs. I think we have to take care of our police staff very much so, but I also think we have to take care of these other people. It’s going to get out. It is public knowledge, and these other employees are going to have the same problem because our other employees are underpaid. We have to look at our budgets.”
He added that this may be a topic that requires further discussion in the Mayor’s Chamber.
The council discussed the possibility of holding a special meeting following the regularly scheduled council meeting this past Monday, January 8.
“If they can’t go with that then they just can’t,” said Huddleston. “Maybe we could hire some other people that would be better anyway.”