The Jefferson Police Department is seeking help to deal with a high turnover rate.

During the most recent law enforcement committee meeting, Police Chief Mark Clouse brought up concerns about the turnover his department has had the last three years. He said there has been 180-percent turnover, with hiring nine officers for five positions. Currently, there is one officer who gave their notice to work for another agency. 

Clouse says high turnover puts a strain on the department, from the administrative staff and other officers having to constantly work other shifts, to the administrative staff having to assist with calls and cases from inexperienced officers, and limiting proactive police work. He added, it also creates low morale when there is high turnover. 

Wages for patrol officers are currently 27-percent below the state average. Clouse said it is costing the city lots of money to outfit new officers and get them through the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy. Clouse suggested a $10,000 wage increase per officer position, for a total of $80,000. He said the increase would also help keep pace with the wages for the deputies with the Greene County Sheriff’s Office. The department says the sheriff’s office will receive an increase in wages over the next two years. By then, the starting salary for a deputy will be $54,000 and for the officers, it will be $43,000.

One year ago, the City Council approved a retention program for police. There was a signing bonus to help with moving expenses, and a student loan repayment plan through the City for officers who had a criminal justice degree. However, Clouse noted only two of the hired officers qualified for the program. City Administrator Mike Palmer asked if the retention program could be eliminated if wages were increased and the turnover rate decreased. Clouse didn’t have an issue with that suggestion. Palmer also noted the City’s general fund budget for the next fiscal year is going to start $200,000 in debt, but could be as high as $300,000. 

Mayor Matt Gordon is pushing to find a solution to get increases in wages to help stem the turnover tide. He agrees that the department is on the low-end of the wage scale and that it was unacceptable to keep having issues. He said when other city departments needed attention the Council found a way to get the funds. Gordon believes positive steps are being taken.

“Getting this information out to the public, Mike Palmer sitting down at the table, everybody (is) trying to grasp where we’re at and make the steps to move forward. So we’re going to be spending less money in the long run if we can just have some retention. That’s basically our focus and our goal.”

Gordon said the committee will keep meeting about the issue every two weeks until a formalized plan is ready to present to the Council.