Columbia’s mayor says the city council supports and appreciates Columbia police officers.
Mayor Barbara Buffaloe notes the council approved a budget in September that contains a six percent across-the-board increase in pay and a ten percent increase in the starting salary for police officers. Columbia Police Officers Association (CPOA) president Matt Nichols tells 939 the Eagle’s “Wake Up Mid-Missouri” that while he appreciate the raises, inflation and compression have impacted police officers.
“In 2019 I had a 20-year detective who has since retired. A 20-year detective made 26 cents an hour more than a brand-new person starting on the street. And here’s the reality: that brand-new person when they went to midnight shift, they made more than that 20-year detective,” Nichols tells listeners.
Mr. Nichols has called on the council to allocate some federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars as premium/hazard pay for law enforcement officers and other essential workers who were unable to work from home during the COVID pandemic.
You can listen to the full “Wake Up” interview with Mr. Nichols here.
