City cops, firefighters, told to settle for “Plan B”

They only put together a second plan to appease City Manager Tim Salmon.

Both Goldsboro Police Chief Mike West and Fire Chief Ron Stempien admitted as much to members of the Goldsboro City Council several weeks ago.

The truth, they said, is that without substantial pay increases for the men and women under their respective commands, staffing woes currently crippling both departments would get worse — and Goldsboro residents would be less safe as a result.

But Tuesday, members of the board said they aren’t going to approve “Plan A” packages West and Stempien said they need to attract and to keep personnel because they are worried that covering the costs would place an undue burden on the next council.

Instead, they instructed Salmon to prepare a resolution to approve both chiefs’ “Plan B” of smaller salary increases, leaving the option of the more expensive plan up to the men and women elected to lead the city this November.

Several council members said they were “uncomfortable” approving a plan that would obligate the next council to an expenditure that would require serious decisions — like tax increases or cuts in other departments.

Council member Charles Gaylor said the decision to opt for the more expensive plan should be left to those who will take office in January, but acknowledged addressing the police and fire issues was important.

“We need to do something that says, ‘We hear you,’” Gaylor said. “We are definitely going to do something.”

But opting for the more expensive Plan A is a decision he feels should be made by those who will also have to decide how to pay for it.

“That is a monumental shift to the budget that will handicap the incoming council,” he said, adding that should he be elected mayor, he would “be ready to take on” that decision.

Council member Bill Broadway, who is not running for re-election, said he was against Plan A because of potential tax implications.

“We are looking at higher taxes for property owners. We are talking 5 or 6 percent,” Broadway said. “We are handcuffing the next council.”

But Mayor Pro-tem Brandi Matthews said that when she came on council, she was forced to make tough choices as a result of decisions made by previous board members — that those are the breaks and responsibilities of being an elected official.

So, she wasn’t satisfied with a rush to adopt a plan both chiefs said was not enough to prevent the exodus from their ranks to continue — and asked if Salmon could come up with another plan that came in somewhere between Plan A and Plan B.

“I see no medium,” she said.

Ham disagreed, arguing that to ask Salmon and city officials to come back with a third option would delay getting the funds to Goldsboro first responders.

“I don’t want to keep waiting,” Matthews replied. “But if we can do better, let’s see if we can do better.”

Salmon said he was in favor of Plan B, which would offers scaled increases and increase starting pay for new hires, as well.

Plan B, he added, was a “more affordable” option that would put the city’s pay scale in between those of Smithfield and Kinston.

But those who listened to West and Stempien seemed concerned that the manager — and the council — simply weren’t hearing them.

Comments littered the space underneath the city’s live stream of the meeting.

And West reiterated to the council that he is expecting to reach 37 vacancies in the next few months as officers leave to take advantage of more attractive pay offers — that, in the meantime, crime is up 40 percent in the last 30 days alone, with shots fired reports also increasingly steadily.

“Things are not going well (in that regard),” he said.

West said Plan A, which gives officers scaled increases up to 21 percent to take care of current employees and improves the city’s starting pay for new officers, would have made the city competitive, which is key to filling vacancies.

“Plan A is better,” West said.

Stempien agreed that Plan A, which would give his firefighters increases up to 16 percent, is also far superior.

He added that in addition to the concerns he has about having the proper number of firefighters to respond to emergency calls, he has the added problem of finding and paying experienced help.

The department currently has 11 vacancies, with more resignations expected later this month, Stempien said, adding that the department’s call volumes are up 53 percent.

“My biggest concern is safety, both for the citizens and the firefighters,” he said.

Stempien said Plan B, while a nice gesture, would not make the Goldsboro Fire Department’s compensation package competitive, which could mean losing active firefighters — a problem made more serious because of the training delay.

“I don’t think it is going to correct the problem,” he said.

Salmon said that while the costs to implement Plan A could be covered for this fiscal year, the city, which already had to take $1 million from its fund balance to meet its budget needs this year, would be obligated to come up with even more the in the 2024-25 fiscal year.

He said he wants the city’s police and fire personnel to be compensated fairly, but added that there were other factors to consider.

“We are responsible for making the bottom line work,” he said.

And that means acknowledging that the future cost of implementing Plan A would add a $1.5 million obligation “that you are going to have to come up with next budget cycle.”