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Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin addressed the Birmingham City Council in an emergency meeting to address public safety and discuss a new plan to continue recruiting and retaining officers in the area.
Woodfin said his proposed plan includes increasing hiring bonuses, retention pay and creating a take-home program for patrol cars. The plan has a price tag just short of $16 million, but Woodfin said the initial price of this plan is much higher than it would be in subsequent years.
Currently, the hiring bonus for new officers is $5,000. Woodfin proposes raising this number to $10,000 for new officers, $5,000 upon completion of training and $5,000 after one year of employment with the department.
The proposal budgets $800,000 to create a campaign to better market employment at the police department and retain talent acquisition recruiters.
The plan would also offer relocation bonuses of $5,000 to officers who reside 80 miles or more from Birmingham when they apply.
There was also discussion of implementing a yearly retention bonus of $10,000 for officers with two or more years of service who commit to serve for another year. The bonuses would be distributed quarterly to prevent a mass departure and increase motivation throughout the year instead of once a year.
Woodfin’s budget for retention efforts makes up more than half of the allotted budget for the proposal at $8.5 million.
Woodfin also proposed a take-home vehicle program to attract and retain officers that would cost the city $4.5 million alone. The Birmingham Police Department is one of three agencies in the Birmingham Metro region that does not offer a take-home vehicle program.
This program would invest in 75 vehicles over the next 4 years. This includes 50 vehicles to be assigned amongst the 140 police officers who live within Birmingham. The other 25 stabilize the current fleet, alongside the annual fleet the city receives.
Through this program, the department hopes to save on vehicle maintenance and management costs. Take-home vehicles are better cared for by officers, resulting in reduced damage, improved maintenance and fewer accidents.
Other benefits include a $1,000 referral bonus for any full-time officer who refers someone who completes their training and is hired by the police department as well as 8 hours of mental health leave per month for all officers and correctional staff.
The proposal includes nearly $1.2 million for a part-time reserve officer program. Some officers are called away from patrol duties to work events around the city, so this program would allow certified officers from surrounding areas to take on these positions to earn extra income.
There is also a proposed $561,600 to fund a Police Trainee Academy. Candidates would be hired after the physical agility screening to begin preparing for the police academy. The police department could then better prepare their recruits for the formal training.
