SanAngeloLIVE.com
BY YANTIS GREEN, YANTIS GREEN
OCTOBER 24, 2023
SAN ANGELO – Social media posts recently warned of a possible mass exodus of San Angelo Police officers because of long term low pay.
As we reported first, the rumor has been circulating for some time but really ramped up following a social media post from former San Angelo Police Department Public Information Officer Tracy Piatt-Fox. In the post, Piatt-Fox claimed that she has heard that over 20 officers are looking for new work while over 40 others could retire at any time.
The main concern is the price difference compared between similar cities. In Abilene, an 8-year officer is eligible to make around $90,000 while the SAPD only offers $60,000.
In response Tuesday afternoon, San Angelo City Manager Daniel Valenzuela released information saying city staff and police department officials have been meeting seeking a resolution:
Staff and I are actively working with the San Angelo Police Officers Coalition leadership. We’ve had three meetings over the past four weeks, with the most recent one held Oct. 18. I am very hopeful that my upcoming meeting with Coalition leadership will yield positive results.
The goal is to develop a long-term solution to address and implement comparably higher pay for public safety officers. While the City has worked diligently to increase employee pay over the past years — seeing a 15.5% increase in the last three years and a $2,500 stipend to every employee in 2023 — admittedly, this has not been enough to keep up with the salary needs for police officers.
The shortage of police officers throughout the state and nation has only exacerbated the issue as law enforcement agencies compete against each other for a shrinking pool of officers, causing salaries to climb rapidly.
To complicate the matter, the State of Texas has placed a 3.5% limitation on increases to property tax revenues for existing valuations, which has led to a $0.078 drop in the property tax rate. Each penny is valued at $726,004, which equates to a $5.66 million decrease in revenue. While this may look good on the surface, it has greatly hampered the City’s ability to properly pay for services, specifically public safety. The 3.5% limitation is much lower than the inflationary rate that has engulfed our cost of service over the past several years. It’s important to note that the City can increase above the 3.5% property tax revenue limit, but it would require an election to do so.
We will continue to work with the San Angelo Police Officers Coalition to develop a solution that is fiscally possible and more comparable to other communities. The City is committed to addressing this issue and retaining its officers. We hold our public safety officers in very high regard, and we are deeply grateful to them for the valuable service they provide.
San Angelo Police Chief Frank Carter has yet to comment publicly on the situation.