Jonesboro City Council to consider across-the-board employee pay raises

Jonesboro city employees make about 6% less than their counterparts in other comparable cities in Arkansas. Elected officials have been pressed to solve the problem.

An ordinance to increase police pay was place on a first reading Tuesday night (Sept. 6) at the city’s bi-monthly council meeting. An overflow crowd comprised of city workers packed the council meeting room long before the meeting began.

If the city approves the police pay hike, it will add about $1.5 million to the city’s annual budget by the year 2022. It will cost an additional $600,000 this year alone to implement, according to city figures. The proposal will appear for a second reading on the October agenda, and could be approved by the November meeting.

The city will study a 3%, a 5%, and a 6% raise for all employees. When the study will be available is not known. Mayor Harold Perrin told Talk Business & Politics he’s neutral on the subject of pay raises. How much the raises will cost is yet to be tabulated, he said.

“I obviously want my people to earn a good living,” the mayor said. “We have to make sure we have enough money … I never want to have to lay anybody off.”

Many in the crowd were police officers. Officer Heath Loggains made an impassioned plea to aldermen to pass the police pay increase. He described how he’s struggled to survive. After nine years on the force, Loggains said his base salary is $33,981, only about $1,500 more than the new trainees the city recently hired.

“I’ve had to eat Ramen noodles and feed my kids hot dogs to survive,” an emotional Loggains said. “There are officers and their families suffering because of this.”

He received an ovation as he left the podium.

Police pay is an issue, but some city employees make even less. One non-uniformed worker said there are employees in his department who make as little as $21,000 per year. Police are exposed to danger, but so are other workers, he said. Road crews constantly have to worry about drivers striking them, he added.

Jonesboro is the county seat and largest city in Northeast Arkansas. It has a population of about 71,000, and is geographically the second largest city in the state. The city has about 600 full-time employees. Many employees who came to voice their opinion didn’t even get into the building. Jonesboro public information officer Bill Campbell told Talk Business & Politics guests arrived long before the meeting began. Once the room was filled to capacity, fire marshals barred anyone else, including a Talk Business & Politics reporter, from entering. Not allowing media members into the room was an oversight, Campbell said.

After the meeting, dozens of workers remained at the City Hall asking for answers. Police Chief Rick Elliott told the crowd he would work to find solutions to the city’s vexing pay problems.