Durham City Council to take up pay raises for first responders
DURHAM, North Carolina (WTVD) -- The question of whether firefighters and police officers in the City of Durham will get a pay raise could be answered Monday.
Last year, the city council hired a consultant group to evaluate police and firefighter salaries.
After the consulting firm studied the pay structure for Durham's public safety workers, it recommended that the city's nearly 500 police officers and 300 firefighters deserve a raise.
The firm compared Durham's current salary levels with other cities of similar size.
The goal is for compensation levels that can help retain experienced uniformed workers.
Currently, a recruit makes around $33,000 per year, plus benefits.
The study recommends adding ranks in some cases, and higher salary adjustments to keep officers and firefighters on duty.
The turnover rate for police in the past year was about 10 percent of officers, which can cost the city when they need to recruit and train new officers.
Last month, the Raleigh City Council set up a universal living wage - boosting the pay of 143 city workers.
RELATED: Raleigh City Council adopts Universal Living Wage policy
However, it did not include pay raises for Raleigh first responders.
