Big Pay Raise Coming For Atlanta Police Officers

ATLANTA, GA —Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has announced a plan to raise the salaries for members of the Atlanta police department. On Monday, Bottoms said by January 2019, the city will invest an $10 million toward compensation for patrolling police and senior police officers. Her plan is that, by July 2019, the city will bring patrolling police and senior police officers to the competitive benchmark identified within the Mercer compensation study.

“Each day, the women and men of the Atlanta police department serve our communities selflessly – some making the ultimate sacrifice to keep our city safe,” said Bottoms. “It is time for the city to take care of those who take care of us, which is why our Administration will immediately get to work to provide Atlanta’s officers with the compensation they deserve.”

In addition to raising police pay by 2019, the City will revisit public safety compensation every two years to ensure the department remains competitive.

Bottoms prioritized an increase in APD compensation of 3.1% in her first budget.

Earlier this year, the department and the Atlanta Police Foundation contracted Mercer to study the department's salaries and make recommendations.

The report found APD’s pay plan ranges, by position, are consistently at the lower end of the peer group for most police ranks and more narrow than those of other departments. Pay ranges for recruits through lieutenants ranked 20% or more below average, while pay for higher ranks is slightly more in line with averages.

The number of years in-rank for Atlanta's officers to advance to the maximum of the pay range is greater than other agencies.

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James Potter/Patch