DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — DeKalb County is raising pay for its emergency personnel, commissioners said at a meeting on Tuesday.
The raise is 6.5% and affects all sworn police officers who are lieutenant and below, sworn firefighters who are captains and below, paramedics and emergency medical technicians.
Starting on Oct. 1, annual salaries for new police officers will be:
- $50,500 for police recruits, up from $47,000
- $3,000 hiring incentive
- $52,000 for POST-certified police officers, up from $50,931
For newly hired firefighters annual salaries will be:
- $46,500 for firefighter recruits, up from $43,500
- $3,000 hiring incentive
- $48,825 for firefighters, up from $46,675
Raises come as part of the county's plan to stay competitive with hiring and improve retention. DeKalb also plans to hire a consulting group to help "with an aggressive national recruiting effort."
This raise makes police officers in DeKalb County the highest paid among large local governments in the state, according to a press release from the county's CEO, Michael Thurmond.
The county also said it is planning to announce the winner of a $1 million grant for the "DeKalb Youth Safety and Violence Prevention Grant initiative, through which the county will partner with local nonprofits that provide youth violence prevention and intervention strategies."