By Frank Donze
Times-Picayune (New Orleans)
Copyright 2006 The Times-Picayune Publishing Company
Seeking to slow an exodus of New Orleans police and fire personnel since Hurricane Katrina, Mayor Ray Nagin announced plans Tuesday to raise salaries by 10 percent for all police officers and to boost the annual starting pay for rookie firefighters by $5,300.
The proposal, which City Council members pledged to implement by Sept. 1, came under immediate attack from surprised leaders of the local fire union, who accused the mayor of ignoring the sacrifices made by veteran firefighters since the storm.
Also caught off guard by the announcement was Dr. Jullette Saussy, director of the city’s Emergency Medical Services unit, who said she hoped the omission of ambulance drivers and dispatchers from the pay proposal was an “oversight.”
Asked about the fairness of his recommendation to limit the raises to police officers and newly hired firefighters, Nagin labeled the move “a first step” to be followed by an ongoing analysis of how to increase salaries for all firefighters and EMS workers.
“I’m not going to get into trying to decide who is more important than not,” Nagin said at a morning City Hall news conference where he was surrounded by top brass from the Police and Fire departments.
“I am committed to taking a look at the entire pay structure of firefighters going forward . . . but right now we are able to fund (only) these raises with our limited resources.”
Nagin said the losses suffered by the Fire Department are not as great as those the NOPD has experienced and could face in the near future as other law enforcement agencies, including the State Police, continue to aggressively recruit in New Orleans.
And as he has in the past, Nagin noted that firefighters, unlike other municipal workers, benefit from a state-mandated, 2 percent annual pay increase that kicks in during their third year on the job. Nagin cited the so-called “longevity” raises as his reason for leaving firefighters out of citywide pay increase in 2003.
Praising first responders
Even as he defended his proposal, Nagin took time to heap praise on all of the city’s first responders.
“I commend all Police and Fire Department members for all their hard work, loyalty and dedication to our citizens,” he said. “Many are still struggling to get their lives back in order, but they are still on the job, working hard every day.
“When Katrina hit, you stood your ground, maintained your post and you protected our city when New Orleans needed you most. Thank you for everything and thank you for keeping us safe.”
Under Nagin’s plan, the Police Department raises would be across the board, boosting pay for every position, from new police recruits to deputy chief to Superintendent Warren Riley. The department’s 224 civilian employees, however, would not see any increase in salaries.
The salary for a rookie officer still in training would increase from $27,825 to $30,607.
An officer with one year on the job now earns $29,978 a year, plus $3,600 in annual state supplemental pay. With the 10 percent raise, those officers would see their salaries jump to $36,575.
Meanwhile, the annual salary for a new firefighter is slated to increase from $15,519 to $20,800. At its present level, Nagin said, the Fire Department’s starting salary “is just not going to get it done.”
Tapping casino supplement
Nagin said the pay package carries a price tag of $2.2 million, which can be covered partially with savings accrued from budgeted but unfilled positions in the Police and Fire departments, and by dipping into the $3.6 million approved this year by the Legislature to reimburse the city for support services it provides to Harrah’s New Orleans Casino.
While the plan still needs the blessing of the city Civil Service Commission and the City Council, council members said they expect both approvals to be placed on a fast track.
“We have many needs in this city,” said Council Vice President Arnie Fielkow, “but first and foremost is public safety.”
The last pay increase for New Orleans police officers came in 2004, when they received a $2,000 midyear increase.
The city is not alone in its efforts to wrestle with the loss of police officers and a shortage of applicants in the wake of Katrina. Jefferson Parish Sheriff Harry Lee recently moved to slow the hemorrhaging in his department with a 13 percent pay raise and a new merit-based pay scale.
Recruitment, retention
Riley lauded Nagin’s proposal, saying it is critical to recruiting as well as retaining experienced officers.
The police force currently stands at 1,452 officers, about 200 fewer than before Katrina. But Riley said about 200 officers have applied for jobs in other cities.
While he said he is optimistic that the raises can “stop some of the people who are interested in going other places,” he added that it will not end the NOPD’s post-Katrina attrition.
“A lot of them (officers) have no choices because their families are away and have settled in other places and are not coming back,” Riley said. It’s estimated that 75 percent of NOPD officers’ homes were flooded.
The superintendent also said he hopes the higher salaries will improve efforts to attract recruits, who have been hard to find over the past year. Since the storm, only 12 recruits have been added to the force.
Riley said 55 applicants are undergoing final background checks and he hopes to launch a new recruit class before year’s end.
‘They’re going to be livid’
Fire Superintendent Charles Parent said he has about 680 firefighters on board, which is about 100 less than he had a year ago when the department was already down from its peak strength. Parent said 13 fire recruits began training this week and he hopes to recruit 130 in the near future.
While he was pleased with the news, Parent said his department faces a “struggle” to retain experienced personnel.
“We’re going to have to raise the salaries for all firefighters to make it more attractive for them to come work in the city and stay in the city,” he said.
“A lot of our people don’t come on board for the salary, per se. They become firemen because that’s what they want to do. It’s a calling more than a job. That’s what we depend on, and we feel they should be rewarded for that.”
Nick Felton, president of the New Orleans Fire Fighters Local 632, said after the news conference that although he thinks police officers deserve a raise, his membership’s patience is wearing thin.
“Morale is already low, and it has just gotten lower,” Felton said. “I can tell you when this news hits firefighters, they’re going to be livid. And they should be.”
Under Nagin’s proposal, Felton said, new recruits will be earning more than some firefighters with two or more years experience, some of whom stayed on after Katrina.
“This is absolutely preposterous. Is this doing anything for retention?” Felton asked. “I’d say no.”
‘Off the radar’
Saussy, the EMS director, said excluding her 90 employees from the pay increases could result in additional departures from an operation that has lost more than two dozen workers since Katrina.
“I think any time you start talking about the three public safety agencies — police, fire and EMS — you need to talk to them together.”
Asked whether she was disturbed that the Nagin administration had not informed her ahead of time about the changes to the police and fire pay plan, Saussy said, “If I let every little thing that happened here bother me, I would be bothered a lot.
“I do think because we’re a small agency, oftentimes we’re off the radar screen. And my job is to keep us on the radar screen.”