‘Huge financial investment in public safety:’ COJ strikes deal with police and fire unions

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Tentative agreements between the City of Jacksonville and the local police and fire unions have been struck.

Highlights include double-digit pay raises and the return of a pension. There’s a lot of enthusiasm about what the deal would mean for recruitment and retention, especially for police.

“I’m grateful we reached this historic agreement with the men and women who put their lives on the line every day to keep all our citizens safe. The agreement ensures that benefits match the commitment of our brave police and corrections officers while supporting the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office in its goal to attract the best and brightest to the force,” Mayor Donna Deegan said in an emailed statement.

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With JSO down more than 100 street officers and 200 corrections officers, getting a sizable pay raise and bringing back the pension were must-haves. In the end, the agency got both.

JSO officers will get a 13% pay raise in the next fiscal year and5% raises for the next two years under the tentative deal struck with the city.

Corrections officers will see a 15% raise later this year, then an 8.5% raise and a 7% raise in the following years.

“The mayor has made a huge financial investment in public safety and our members here, so that the sheriff, Sheriff Waters, can recruit and retain the best and the brightest,” FOP Lodge 530 President Randy Reaves said.

Reaves specifically praised Mayor Donna Deegan for bringing police back to the Florida Retirement System.

“Her choice to get us back to a defined benefit in year three of this contract is really going to be what turns around the fact that we have so many vacancies on police and corrections,” Reaves said.

JSO officers currently make almost $10,000 less a year on average and corrections officers nearly $7,000 less compared to similarly sized agencies throughout the state.

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The deal would raise starting salaries right around those averages, with police making more than $65,000 and corrections over $60,000.

Sheriff T.K. Waters said raising the starting salaries will be a game changer for recruitment and retention.

“I think we have a little bit more to go, but we’re closer to where it should be, I think it’s going to be tremendous for us,” Waters said.

On the fire side, recruitment and retention have also been a challenge.

“I could tell you in the last two months we had six just quit,” Jacksonville Association of Firefighters President Kelly Dobson said.

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Dobson said the return of a pension and a 12% pay raise next fiscal year will put JFRD back on a level playing field.

“That’s going to make a huge difference for our department,” Dobson said.

Members of both unions are expected to vote on the contracts in July.

If approved, the contracts will go before council for approval ahead of the new budget year, which starts October 1.

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