As Police Shortages Continue, Smyrna Increases Officer Pay To Stay Competitive

SMYRNA, GA — The Smyrna Police Department is increasing officer starting pay and addressing pay compression in the department, following a Smyrna City Council vote Monday.

A total of 87 employees were part of a SPD pay study, and 35 of them will receive adjustments to the new grade minimums, which will cost the city about $94,000 total. Of the same 87 employees, 66 of them needed compression-related adjustments, totaling about $150,000.

Employees receiving pay adjustments or raises — which range from 2 percent to as high as 20 percent — include police lieutenants, a master patrol officer, police majors, both certified and uncertified police officers, and police sergeants. The police chief, deputy police chief and several other titles were not eligible for pay raises or adjustments.

For example, a certified officer's starting salary raised 8.5 percent, from $43,077 to $46,744.

"We want to make sure we're doing all we can on our side to ensure [Police] Chief [Keith] Zgonc has the appropriate staff and a wealth of staff that plans on being here in the city of Smyrna for the long haul," Mayor Pro Tem Tim Gould said before the unanimous vote to approve the pay raises. "We want the folks to stay, and we want to create an environment where they're compensated fairly, but it's also an environment where they're part of the community and they stay for years."

The city of Smyrna is already participating in a citywide compensation study with the University of Georgia's Carl Vinson Institute of Government, which will provide data on how Smyrna city employees' salaries compare to other cities. The study will also address pay compression, a compensation issue where there's little difference in pay between employees regardless of differences in knowledge, skills, experience or abilities.

The full compensation study is expected to be presented to council in January. But due to continuing police shortages, city leaders felt it was imperative to address the pay issues within the police department sooner.

City officials asked the Carl Vinson Institute to do a break-out of the police department and analyze where the city was in respect to other jurisdictions — and the agency found that the city was one of the lowest paid police departments, even after the 4 percent pay grade adjustment in October. The institute also found pay compression issues in the police department.

The pay rate adjustments will take effect in the pay period beginning Nov. 15.

The full compensation study, when completed, is anticipated to prompt further police-specific adjustments when it comes forward in January. This most-recent council action is "a measure to put the city of Smyrna in a more competitive position immediately," according to a city news release.

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