Henderson PD to get pay raises, new license plate readers

Police chief Marcus Barrow said 27% of the department’s positions are open.

“It’s kind of hard to do your job when you don’t have the staffing to do it,” said councilman Lamont Noel. That’s why he said it was necessary to approve the $6,456 pay bump for each officer in the department.

City Manager Terrell Blackmon said this move makes the department more competitive when it comes to retention. He said the council will need to address the funding again in the future.

“We’ll be able to immediately fund the increases with this year’s current budget, but moving forward, we’ll have to appropriate additional funds,” he said.

Most nearby agencies are paying their officers about $50,000. After last night’s unanimous vote, Henderson PD’s entry-level salary is nearly $49,000.

“Over the past several years a national movement has rendered recruitment efforts extremely difficult for law enforcement agencies. We are all struggling to find ways to recruit and remain competitive within various regions," Barrow said in a statement.

"The action taken by our city council last night is a boost in the moral of our officers and will aid in the retention and hopefully recruitment of officers. In my tenure with the City of Henderson and as the chief, I have always felt the support of our city council and city manager. The city council and city manager are consistently providing our agency with the tools necessary to accomplish our goals.”

Henderson Police Department is accredited through The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA).

“Having CALEA accreditation is a game-changer, because our officers, our chief they’re all held to a higher standard. We want to make sure our CALEA accreditation matches competitive wages and salaries at other departments,” said Councilwoman Melissa Elliott.

According to Barrow, the department has 12 vacancies. However, after Monday night’s meeting, one of those vacancies will not be filled. Instead, the department will use the $66,000 that would have otherwise been allocated to salary and benefits to pay for 25 new Flock Safety cameras.

“That information is kept in the system 30 days. We’re not trying to track the personal lives of anyone, but we would love to be able to find the license plate of a car that has been identified as part of a crime,” Councilman Garry Daeke explained.