City of Hampton proposes largest raises for sworn public safety officers, 911 operators

Hampton plans to address staffing shortages for first responders, in part, by offering them the largest pay raises in the city.

City Manager Mary Bunting’s recommended budget includes 7% raises for sworn public safety officers and 911 operators because they’re the most difficult for the city to fill and retain. Bunting attributed the challenges to a tight labor market, increased crime and “a negative national environment around policing.”

“We have always stood strong in supporting our officers,” Bunting said at last week’s informal City Council work session. “While other communities were defunding their police, we were defending ours.”

The Hampton Police Division has 37 vacancies out of 315 sworn personnel positions, which means it is 11.7% below full staffing, according to a Virginian-Pilot report. This puts its officer shortage in the middle for the region.

“Although the budgets in other localities are not finalized, we believe the 7% raise will put Hampton at or above the mid-point of the seven cities in public safety salaries,” Bunting said.

If the budget is approved by the city council, other full-time city employees who have been with the city for at least one year will see raises ranging from 5-6%.

The proposed budget also sets aside money for other measures to retain public safety employees, including $600,000 to add two new emergency medical services teams to reduce the burden on current staff and give them more time to recover between calls.

The budget also expands the police division’s take-home car program to allow all eligible officers on the waitlist to bring their vehicles home with them.

The budget proposal also includes $414,000 for security upgrades to the city jail, such as x-ray screening and intercom communications.

After several years of planning, the city’s capital budget would reserve $11.3 million for a new 911 center.

The project will move the center from the ninth floor of City Hall to a new facility near Fire Station 11 in the northwestern section of the city, which is the highest ground in the city, according to Assistant City Manager Brian DeProfio. The new building will also be built to withstand a Category 3 hurricane.

Hampton City Hall is prone to flooding and not built to withstand a hurricane, DeProfio said. There are no plans to relocate City Hall because most employees don’t need to report to the building during extreme weather conditions, but dispatchers do.

The city is currently designing the new 911 center now that the funding has been budgeted. There’s no timeline yet for when it will be built, according to city spokeswoman Robin McCormick.

The city will hold public hearings on the proposed budget April 27 and May 4. City Council is slated to vote on the budget May 11.

Jessica Nolte, 757-912-1675, jnolte@dailypress.com