FORT MYERS, Fla. — Fort Myers police officers are leaving for other departments in Southwest Florida as their union fights for better compensation, union leaders told city council Monday.
Watch Fox 4's Eric Lovelace report on the Fort Myers Police Union negotiations:
Jari Sanders, president of the Fort Myers Police Union, said officers don't feel valued under the current pay structure. More than a dozen officers attended the city council meeting to support the union's push for higher wages.
"The officers are feeling like they're not appreciated, like they're undervalued," Sanders said.
The city offered a pay increase that would raise officer starting salaries by $10,000, but Sanders said starting pay isn't the main issue.
"Our year 5 and year 10 officers are feeling this the most," Sanders said.
According to a wage survey conducted by the International Union of Police Associations Research Department, Fort Myers police salaries trail many municipalities in Southwest Florida, falling short of Punta Gorda, Cape Coral and Naples.
Officers are paid on a step plan, based on years of service. The current step plan has salary ranges from $60,000 to $90,000. The city's current offer would raise those ranges from $70,000 to $101,000.
Sanders said higher-ranking officers on the step plan don't have attractive enough incentives to stay with the department long-term.
"This directly effects recruiting and our retention, our recruiting is one thing but it's our retention," Sanders said.
According to Sanders, the department lost 11 officers in June, and 10 officers are currently signed up for physical fitness assessments at other agencies, Sanders said. He emphasized these aren't new officers but the most experienced personnel on the city's force.
"These are the officers that have experience in some of our highest liability areas," Sanders said. "Our homicide unit, our criminal investigations unit, our swat team."
Mayor Kevin Anderson, who previously worked in law enforcement, said hearing that officers don't feel supported isn't the message he wants to send.
"I'm bragging on them all the time, every time I'm giving a talk I'm talking about how we went from such dangerous city to such a safe city," Anderson said.
Anderson said he plans to review the budget details with the city manager to see what options are available.
"I will sit down with the city manager and have him go over the numbers, very detailed, see where we are, and see where we can take it," Anderson said.
