By Sarah Roebuck
Police1
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — In an effort to recruit and retain more officers, the North Charleston City Council voted to give city police officers a raise on Thursday, WCSC reports.
The $5,600 raise will go to all sworn officers regardless of their time served. The increase will make the starting salary for a police officer in the city at $56,078.
Other positions will also receive a raise:
- Corporals will be increased to $5,200
- Sergeants will be increased to $5,000
- Lieutenants will be increased to $4,000
- Captains will be increased to $3,000
“We’re constantly looking at the market trends to see what police officers are making in the area; and historically, we’ve always been at or near the top, the best paid police officers,” North Charleston Police Department Chief Greg Gomes told WCSC. “Recently, we kind of noticed that some other agencies, to their credit, had increased salaries.”
The city council said the raises are an effort to keep North Charleston Police compensation comparable to other Lowcountry agencies.
The raises are expected to go into effect in September. The funding for the raises will not cost taxpayers as the city’s revenue is coming in higher than expected for the end of the 2023 fiscal year.