A public safety coalition for a North Carolina tourist city that has seen a dwindling police force amid rising violent crime told city leaders that their proposed salary raise for officers is insufficient.
City leaders in Asheville have recommended a 6% pay increase for sworn positions in the Asheville Police Department (APD), which members of the Asheville Coalition for Public Safety say is not nearly enough, according to local ABC affiliate WLOS.
A city budget presentation for fiscal year 2024 allocated $33.8 million for the APD, which marks an increase of $3.7 million compared to the previous fiscal year and includes increased night and on-call pay. The city trimmed the APD budget by 3% in 2020 amid calls from activists to slash it by half.
Asheville Coalition for Public Safety Chair Honor Moor told city leaders that the recommended salary increase is inadequate when compared to law enforcement salaries in nearby cities such as Charlotte, where annual salaries range from $50,000 to $90,000.
The starting salary for APD officers who have completed academy training and obtained certification is $45,856, though the city spent $681,626 on overtime in 2020, $813,842 in 2021 and $390,708 in 2022.
Coalition member Tom Tesser reportedly likened the proposed 6% salary increase to crumbs and said that Asheville should be offering some of the highest officer salaries in the state.
"One of our family members or ourselves are going to be in a mall or going to be in a situation where we need police, and, because of the lack of officers, the response time is going to be significantly diminished. That's a huge fear," he said.
Tesser told WLOS that the coalition's priority is increasing the number of officers to combat crime, especially in downtown Asheville.
"They’re going to hear us," he said of city leaders. "But are they going to listen to us? That’s the key, that’s the question."
Democrat Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer has said pay raises for law enforcement is a priority for the City Council and that they appreciate the jobs that police do, according to the local outlet.
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The APD has been hemorrhaging staff in recent years, and Police Chief David Zack told Fox News Digital last fall that his department was struggling to maintain visibility after losing more than 100 officers.
The small city of 90,000 people in the Blue Ridge Mountains has seen aggravated assaults rise by 21.8% and armed robberies by 20% from 2021 to 2022, according to APD statistics.
Asheville city government began a 60-day initiative on May 1 to improve conditions in its downtown district amid the crisis in police staffing. The initiative includes increased law enforcement presence downtown, including foot, bike and vehicle patrols and enhanced security in parks. Authorities will also devote attention to keeping the downtown clean by removing litter, needles and biological waste.
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A team of six deputies with the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office have been paid $75 per hour to assist in patrolling downtown Asheville on Fridays and Saturdays from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. in recent weeks, according to a document reported by local outlet Asheville Watchdog.
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