Thurmont
Police lowest paid in region
By James Rada, Jr.
Thurmont News Editor
THURMONT, Md. – A new police officer with no experience
in Brunswick can make $27,664 a year starting out while the
same police officer in Thurmont, a town 15 percent larger than
Brunswick, makes 5 percent less.
“Our
salaries are not competitive with local jurisdictions like
Brunswick,” said Thurmont Police Chief Greg Eyler.
The Thurmont
Police Commission agrees with Eyler. The commission conducted
a study last year among regional police agencies and found
that salaries were about 26 percent less in Thurmont at all
levels.
“The
salaries that were offered did nothing to keep officers here,”
Commission Chairman Tom Iaccarino said during the March 22
meeting.
The commission
compared Thurmont Police salaries with the Frederick County
Sheriff’s Office, Frederick City, Taneytown, Hagerstown,
Westminster and Brunswick.
“We’ll
never be up to level of county or the state, but it should
be competitive with local jurisdictions,” Eyler said.
Brunswick
Police Chief Donald Rough he believes Brunswick’s police
salaries are where they should be. “For a small municipality,
the salary (in Brunswick) is comparable to the sheriff’s
office or Frederick City,” Rough said.
The starting
salary for a Frederick County sheriff’s deputy is $38,395.
The starting salary for a Frederick City police officer is
$34,259.
“If
we don’t get competitive salaries, we’re not going
to attract good people or retain them,” Eyler said.
“You can’t build a department without good people.”
Eyler
and Iaccarino have been meeting privately with the town commissioners
to present the study results and a new pay scale they would
like to see added to the fiscal year 2007 budget.
“The
salary thing’s going to be tough to fit in the budget,”
said Commissioner Bill Blakeslee during the March police commission
meeting. “We’ve got a lot of things to pay for.”
The commission
would also like to improve the benefits for Thurmont Police
officers. However, they also realize that between the new
police station and new pay scale, they are asking taxpayers
to take on a lot. They decided to begin looking benefits,
but to take their time with the study to see how much progress
is made with the new pay scale.
A
Sampling of Starting Law Enforcement Salaries
Jurisdiction
Thurmont
Brunswick
Frederick City
Frederick County
|
Starting
Salary
$26,269
$27,664
$34,259
$38,395 |
Population
(7/1/04)
``5,995
`5,225
57,009
131,035 |
Source:
Town of Brunswick, Town of Thurmont, City of Frederick, Frederick
County Government and the Maryland Department of Planning.
