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Florissant Police Association Wants Revenues From Traffic Cameras To Go For Pay Hikes
BY CAROL ARNETT
The Florissant Police Officer’s Association has submitted a proposal to the city council in response to Mayor Robert Lowery’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2007. The city’s fiscal year runs from Dec. 1 through Nov. 30.
The mayor submits a proposed budget to the council, the council reviews the budget, and then makes changes if needed, before approving the final budget.
The Police Officer’s Association submitted its proposal when the budget was recently submitted. The association is asking the council to reconsider the proposed pay raise of 3.5%. Lowery’s budget proposes the 3.5% cost of living increase for all city employees.
With the 3.5% pay raise the mayor proposed, the police department accounts for $8.8 million of the city’s $28 million budget. The budget for the Public Works department is $3.6 million, the budget for the Administrative department is $2.7 million, and the Capital Improvement Fund has a budget of $3.5 million
The Police Officer’s Association notes that the police force’s salary ranking among other area cities has declined since 1994. In 1994, the average Florissant Police Officer’s salary was ranked 6th. In 2006, the ranking was 19th. The salaries of captains, lieutenants, and sergeants are also ranked lower than in 1994.
However, the association’s report notes, the salaries of the Florissant mayor and council members still rank high. The mayor is the highest paid mayor in the area, with a $135,746 annual salary that’s higher than both the St. Louis County Executive and the St. Louis City mayor, it was noted.
The council salary, at $11,568, ranks second in the area, behind the St. Louis County Council salary of $12,500. Council members in Bridgeton are paid $6,000, and in Hazelwood, $2,400.
The association states that it would like Florissant Police Officers to join the mayor and council in the top ten salaries.
The association is requesting a 10% salary increase for all commissioned police personnel, dispatchers and corrections officers. It also is requesting increased dependent health care benefits. In addition, the Association would like the city to implement retirement benefits for commissioned police personnel.
The association suggests that the city use revenue collected from tickets issued from the new traffic monitoring cameras in the city to increase police salary and benefits. Currently, the association states, the city is averaging 83.2 violations per day with the two cameras in place. If 75% of the tickets are paid, the city collects $4,243 per day, or $1,546,768 per year.
Florissant is considering placing additional cameras in the city. Three more intersections with cameras, the association states, could result in the revenue collected to exceed $4,500,000 per year.
With the 3.5% pay raise the mayor proposed, the police department accounts for $8.8 million of the city’s $28 million budget. The budget for the Public Works department is $3.6 million, the budget for the Administrative department is $2.7 million, and the Capital Improvement Fund has a budget of $3.5 million.
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