DETROIT (WXYZ) — Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan along with Detroit Police Chief James White and union representatives announced Friday that a “landmark” agreement has been reached to make base pay for officers competitive with other departments in the area.
According to a press release from the city, the jump in officer starting and maximum pay is historic.
The proposed agreement with the Detroit Police Officers Association would increase starting officers’ pay from $43,000 to $53,000. Officers with 4 years on the force would go from $60,000 to $73,000. And officers would get an increase of 4% per year for the next four years under the contract. Another tentative agreement with the Lieutenants and Sergeants union would raise the pay of detectives by $11,000, sergeants by an average of $10,000, and lieutenants by an average of $11,000.
“I want to thank Mayor Mike Duggan for allowing the Detroit Police Department to be competitive with the other top law enforcement agencies in the country,” Chief White said in a statement. “I have always said that we have the best police department in the country, and this new contract rewards the hard-working men and women who put their lives on the line, every single day, to protect and serve Detroiters. This tentative agreement is our commitment to them, and a show of our appreciation, continued support, and respect for all that they do.”
Currently, the Detroit Police Department has 300 police officer vacancies today after they reportedly lost 72 officers in the months of August and September.
“Surrounding cities were raiding DPD because they know we have the most committed and best trained officers,” said Duggan in a press release. “We’ve been working with the union leadership for months to put together a package Detroit could be proud of. I really believe we’ve done that here.”
The tentative agreements still have to be ratified — plans are for that to happen next week. The $25 million proposal is reportedly going to be paid for by growth in the city’s income tax revenue.
