The City of Alexander Police Chief Robert Burnett presented a proposal to the city council that will allow the police department to buy five new vehicles and increase wages without using any city tax generated revenue for the next four years. The proposed source of funding will be the remaining funds in the city’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) account.
ARPA was signed into law by President Joe Biden March 11, 2021 to provide fiscal relief funds to state and local governments aimed at mitigating the effects of the CoVid-19 pandemic. The city used ARPA funds in December 2021 to give bonuses for employees who qualified under ARPA guidelines.
Chief Burnett provided council members a cost breakdown of three vehicle models.
- A Dodge Charger with a V-8 engine will cost $34,700.00. With additional equipment and decals one vehicle will cost $46,800.00.
- A Dodge Durango SUV with a V-8 engine will cost $40,000.00. Fully outfitted is $52,100.00.
- The third model is a Dodge Durango SUV with a V-6 engine and All-Wheel-Drive at a cost of $38,500.00. Adding the extra equipment and decals runs the cost up to $50,600.00.
If the city were to choose one model and buy five of that model vehicle, fully equipped, it would cost $234,000.00; $260,500.00 and $253,000.00 respectively.
Burnett offered a compromise of buying three of the Dodge Chargers and two of either of the Dodge Durango SUVs. Three Dodge Chargers and two Dodge Durango SUVs (V-8) would cost $244,600.00. Three Dodge Chargers and two Dodge Durango SUVs (V-6 AWD) is $241,600.00. Burnett noted when the current vehicles were purchased their starting cost was around $23,000.00.
At the beginning of his presentation Chief Burnett told council members the three-year warranty on all the police vehicles have expired. And, while ARPA funds can’t be used to pay maintenance, “They can be used to buy new vehicles,” he said.
Burnett added that any current vehicle that has equipment that can be used will be transferred to a new vehicle, saving some upfront costs. One of the current vehicles will be kept for use by the auxiliary police officers.
Burnett provided a rundown on remaining ARPA funds. The original amount received was around $700,000.00. After the bonuses were paid to qualifying employees in December 2021 there is over $600,000.00 remaining.
During Burnett’s briefing on his pay raise proposal he noted that the only officers with the longest time serving the department are himself and the two other officers who joined the same year he did in 2016; Assistant Police Chief Richard Harper and Lt. Jessica Burnett. One officer has been in Alexander two years, two officers one year and four were hired this year. And, that still leaves two openings for sergeants unfilled. One of those has been vacant for about a year. The department has a total of 12 positions.
All of the city’s current officers have served in other departments. The total years of service range from Police Chief Burnett and Assistant Chief Harper’s 25 years each to one year by the city’s most recent hire.
Chief Burnett provided council members a chart showing each officer with years served in Alexander, total years of experience, the year they were hired, hourly rate of pay, annual pay, and proposed increases.
“You’ll see most of these people have zero experience,” Burnett said. “That’s because we can’t afford to get anybody (with experience) right now.”
Based on years of experience the hourly rate paid to officers ranges from $28 to $17 per hour. The current yearly pay ranges from $58,240.00 for the police chief down to an officer’s pay of $38,896.00.
The proposed increases would raise the hourly rates $5.00, $3.00 and $2.00. The proposal changes the police chief to an annual salary of $70,000.00. The remaining increases range from $49,920.00 to $41,496.00 annually based on an 80-hour two-week pay period. The total cost of the raises coming from ARPA annually would be $59,080.00. After four years the total cost of the raises is $236,320.00.
Council Member Joy Gray said she would be, “Willing to go higher on wages.”
About two or three months ago Alexander lost two officers who were hired by the Capitol Police in Little Rock. Starting pay there is around $56,000.00 per year.
Chief Burnett said the “revolving door” is still an issue.
In the past, before Alexander began providing benefits, it was worse. The city would hire an officer who hadn’t had the Arkansas Police Academy training. After graduating they were able to find another job with benefits and/or higher pay. Because the city pays for the academy training new hires must sign a two-year contract which binds them working two years for Alexander.
There was a brief discussion of instituting a merit pay system. Burnett said it’s “not fair” that everyone gets the same annual pay increase based only on how long they’ve been with the city. He noted some officers deserve more based on performance.
The purpose of the four-year plan is to spend as much of the remaining portion of the ARPA funds as possible before the deadline set by the Federal Government of December 31, 2026. Any remaining funds will have to be returned.
If council members agree to purchase five police vehicles at a cost of $244,600.00 plus the cost of the raises at $236,320.00, that’s a total of $480,920.00. That leaves a balance in the ARPA account of approximately $120,000.00.
Both of these proposals, especially the wage increases, will have to be included in the 2023 budget. Council members should get a first look at next year’s budget during the December council meeting.
In another police related matter, Chief Burnett announced the department has been approved for a grant, “Of no less than $100,00.00,” to buy dash-cams. He said they probably won’t be able to equip all the vehicles with the new system, which includes off-site storage of the video files.
Burnett said the off-site storage, which is essentially what’s referred to as “The Cloud” will give the prosecuting attorney and judge easier access to videos during trials. Currently everything is stored on hard drives in city hall, which requires the constant purchase of more hard drives.
The new system will also activate the officer's body-cam when the emergency lights are turned on.
Also at the November 21 council meeting:
Resolution specifying who can sign checks approved;
The only action item on the agenda was the passage of a resolution establishing who can sign checks and other banking documents. The new resolution lists Mayor Paul Mitchell, City Treasurer JoAn Allen-Churchill and City Recorder Sharon Bankhead. Bankhead was not included in the previous resolution. Council Member Juanita Wilson is listed as a “Secondary” signer.
The previous resolution included former city hall employee Melissa Ratliff/Anthony and Council Member Dan Church. Church did not seek re-election to the city council. His term will end December 31, 2022.
Mayoral candidate speaks;
During the Public Comment portion of the meeting mayoral candidate Crystal Herrmann asked council members to review information she uncovered based on Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. She began submitting the FOIA requests after she filed to run for mayor.
“Because I am running for Mayor I wanted to see the financial standings and understand the magnitude of the different departments and the revenue with the city,” Herrmann said. “I found a lot of inconsistencies.”
She noted it took “forever” to get answers to her FOIA requests.
Her initial FOIA request is dated August 19. The request asked for the following documents.
"City Of Alexander Treasurer's monthly report for the last twenty-four months."
"City of Alexander 2020 and 2021 Financial statements."
"Copy of the last twelve months' city electric, gas, and water bills."
"All credit card statements for the City Of Alexander in the last twelve months."
"City of Alexander gas card statements for the last twenty-four-month period includes all from one company to the next."
"Copy of most recent Inventory list Of all equipment, vehicles, real property, and structures owned by the City of Alexander. Include all the departments COIs from 2020 to current of all Alexander's equipment, vehicles, and structures. Include all the departments."
"Copies of payroll and any other checks written to employees outside of payroll for all departments in the last twelve months."
Under the council’s meeting rules council members can not respond to anyone during Public Comment.
Crystal Herrmann will face Mayor Paul Mitchell in a runoff election December 6.
Next Meeting
The next meeting of the Alexander City Council is Monday, December 19 at 6:00 PM in the courtroom at the Alexander Municipal Complex (City Hall). The public is invited to attend.
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