Independence council approves sales tax, raising police wages
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — Monday night, the City of Independence took a giant leap forward in making their wages for their police officers some of the highest across the Kansas City metro.
The collective bargaining agreement passed, now it’s up to voters on how this pay raise will be funded.
Those in favor argue that this will allow them not to only keep officers on the force but recruit high quality candidates for open spots.
The union says with the moves made Monday, it makes the Independence Police Department the third highest paid in the metro, starting July 1.
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“Came to an agreement that will allow us to not only maintain the personnel that we have now but also to recruit some more qualified applicants,” Doug Blodgett, a member of the FOP and an Independence police officer said.
What this agreement between the city and the department does, is put more money in the pockets of those sworn to serve and protect.
It raises the starting salary by over $10,000, to the new amount of over $62,000 a year.
The contract will have an increase every year of the 4-year deal, putting the top out number over $103,000.
If an officer retires at 55 it will allow them to have health insurance until they are 65, or when Medicare kicks in, if they’ve served 15 years or more on the force.
“If we cannot continue to recruit and retain qualified officers and continue our staffing then it definitely becomes a point of concern as far as safety for everyone,” Blodgett said.
“Investing in our police is an investment into our safety, we will be able to offer competitive wages that reflect the value for our officer’s dedication and their service,” Councilmember Jennie Vaught said.
So, an important note, the contract is already agreed to, so the city will have to make these adjustments, what the vote does is allocate that percentage of the sales tax to pay for this raise.
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If voters don’t pass this sales tax measure on August 6, the city will still be held to this agreement. How they would fund it without the voter’s help is unknown.
City manager Zach Walker told FOX4, simply, it would not be good.
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