Gwinnett commissioners will raise by 16 percent the starting pay for new police officers, making them among the best-paid rookie cops in metro Atlanta.
County officials said Wednesday they hope the higher pay, which will take effect next month, will help put 100 new officers on Gwinnett's streets by the end of the year.
New police officers will get a 16 percent raise, while deputies' starting pay will increase about 10 percent.
Entry-level pay will jump by more than $4,600 to $33,197 a year. New hires also will get a $2,000 cash bonus during their first year on the job, giving them an incentive to stick around at a time when Gwinnett has been unable to maintain a full force.
"If salary and benefits mean anything to people looking to become officers, this should be a great opportunity," said Gwinnett Commission Chairman Charles Bannister, who made police pay an issue during last year's election.
Commissioners also will increase the starting pay for sheriff's deputies and firefighters by about 10 percent. Fire Chief Jack McElfish said he had no comment, but Sheriff Butch Conway said the disparity is unfair.
"Deputy sheriffs are worth the same salary as police officers," he said.
County officials said the raises put sheriff's deputies and firefighters within 6 percent of the metro market average for their jobs, the same as police officers. They also argue that Gwinnett currently has a greater need for police officers.
"We didn't just pick out a number and say, 'You're a fair-haired group,' " said Deputy County Administrator Mike Comer.
County administrators are faced with 67 police vacancies, and commissioners recently adopted an operating budget that calls for an additional 30 hires immediately. In December, the county will hire 30 more officers for a total of 127 by next year.
Police officials said they have had a hard time recruiting because of the department's low starting pay.
Conway, who has seven vacancies, said he also faces competitive pressures. A new jail expansion will require an additional 86 deputies by next year. They, too, will get the $2,000 bonus for sticking around the first year.
Comer said county commissioners have pledged to work with Conway to adjust pay for deputies whose jobs are similar to police officers'.
The Gwinnett Fire Department has eight vacancies, a spokesman said.
Police pay has been an issue in fast-growing metro Atlanta for years, and Gwinnett is no exception.
Commissioners raised pay by about 16 percent in 1998. Then in 2001, a group of Gwinnett officers paid $7,000 for a billboard on I-85 with the message: "Welcome to Gwinnett: Lowest Paid Public Safety in Metro Atlanta."
The stunt helped get the officers a 7 percent bump months later, but pay for rank-and-file officers has continued to lag behind Cobb, DeKalb and Fulton counties, as well as the city of Atlanta.
In Atlanta, a police union put up similar billboards last April declaring officers there were "some of the lowest-paid police officers in the country." Atlanta cops have gotten 4 percent raises each of the past two years.
DeKalb officials have been cutting overtime pay for county cops for the past couple of years. The county's most recent budget gave them a 3 percent raise, less than officers had hoped for.
Gwinnett's new pay package for rookie cops will cost taxpayers $3.2 million a year.
In addition to the increase in starting pay, salaries for existing officers, firefighters and sheriff's deputies will be increased between 2 percent and 16 percent. Officials want to avoid pay inequities with the new, higher-paid recruits and bring all salaries closer to the metro Atlanta market average.
Police pay was a hot issue in last year's county elections. All three of the commission's newest members promised progress. One of them, Commissioner Mike Beaudreau, called it "the right thing to do" Wednesday.
Commissioner Bert Nasuti said he has tried for several years to raise police pay but was opposed by former Commission Chairman Wayne Hill.
"We really shouldn't lose people because of pay and benefits," Nasuti said.