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Does Florissant have enough police officers on our streets? Of twenty cities in the metropolitan area, Florissant has the fewest police based on population.  The below table shows that Florissant only has one police officer for every 650 residents while Berkeley has the most with one police officer for every 214 residents.  For these 20 communities the average number of residents per one Police Officer is 388.  Florissant would need to hire an additional 56, for a total of 139 Police Officers to be "average".

Are the members of the Florissant Police Department paid enough?  In the mid- 1990's our officers were paid fairly well.  However salary rankings, compared to other metropolitan area departments, have steadily been declining:

Has the declining pay/benefits been a factor in the turnover in the department and made it less attractive to work here?  In 2006 the Florissant Police Officer's Association presented to the city Council during budget talks a Salary and Benefit Proposal.  To view the entire 2006 Salary and Benefit proposal click here.  Here are a few of their key points:

1. 46 of the 82 commissioned police personnel had less than ten years of experience while 36 had more than 10 years of experience.

2. "Of the last 40 officers hired, almost all were hired with either less than 3 years or no prior law enforcement experience at all."

3. "The number of applications being received has also declined.  Over the past few years the department has resorted to seeking out potential officers from a variety of sources.  Our department used to maintain an eligibility list, but has not been able to do so for many years."

4. "Since our proposal in 2002 our department has gone two years without any increase causing our salary ranking to fall well beyond our previous standing with other departments."

In contrast, the Mayor's salary has increased from $114,550 in 2002 to $138,460 in 2007 a total increase of $23,960.  In 2005, the Mayor's salary increased by 4.14% while the police department budget for salaries only increased 2.56%.  In 2006, the Mayor received a 3.89% increase in salary even though the police department received NO increase. In addition to his salary the Mayor has an expense account that has been budgeted for $20,000 four out of the the last five years and the fifth year was budgeted for $19,000.

Could the Red-Light Camera money help the Mayor keep his promise to Police Department?  In a letter dated October 10, 2002 from Mayor Lowery to the Florissant Police Officers Association Mayor Lowery stated "...it is my intention to make certain that the officers' pay is in the top 3 of the metropolitan area.  You must understand that any recommendation that I will make must be predicated on the City receiving additional revenue, and, at that time, I will make a recommendation to increase your pay no matter when it is."  The entire letter is included in the 2006 Salary and Benefit Proposal (link above).