Athens City Council increases salaries for police

ATHENS — In an effort to recruit more police officers, the Athens City Council recently approved an increase in salaries for the police department — including a substantial hike for new officers. According to our news partner KETK, the city says the department currently has nine openings as it has reportedly been short-staffed for years due to a statewide lack of recruits. Officials also said this hasn’t been caused by a lack of effort, because they have resorted to many measures to recruit — but the shortage has persisted nonetheless. The new pay scale would increase a beginning officer’s starting salary from $46,654 per year to $59,528, with smaller increases depending on rank for officers currently with the department to help retain them.