The fire and police unions in Arlington County, Virginia, are asking for an increased property tax rate to better pay first responders and fill vacancies in both departments.
“We’ve been dealing with the staffing crisis for the last three to five years, and it seemed to hit Arlington a little bit harder than our neighboring jurisdictions,” said Randall Mason, president of the Arlington Coalition of Police.
The unions are asking for a one-cent hike to the property tax rate to address the staffing shortages.
According to Mason, the police department is down 72 officers, giving it a 19.1% vacancy rate, which he said is among the highest in the D.C. area. The department is allowed 376 positions.
Press release:
Staffing at ACPD is bad …. sad for such a wealthy well run county. We are hoping for better, but hope is not a plan, we need immediate action to retain what we have left of our police force. @ARLnowDOTcom @STATter911 @fox5dc @washingtonpost @nbcwashington @WTOP pic.twitter.com/iPrcRv57AQ
— Arlington Coalition of Police (@ArlingtonCOPS) Feb. 26, 2024
As a result, he said, officers are being stretched thin as they are asked to cover holes by working extra hours.
“We’re working an inordinate amount of overtime just to get to minimum staffing,” Mason said.
An Arlington police spokesperson told WTOP that while the remaining officers have been dedicated to serving the community, the level of overtime officers are working “is not sustainable and does not support a healthy work/life balance.”
“We will continue to implement and support initiatives to keep our dedicated staff along with recruitment strategies to help attract qualified candidates, including a hiring bonus up to $25,000,” the spokesperson said.
“We 100% need more money”
While Mason acknowledged the struggles police departments are seeing across the country, he said a lack of funding is also playing a role.
“I realize that there are other needs and we need to spend money elsewhere, but we 100% need more money for the police department to fix our staffing issue,” he said.
Right now, he said the department continues to see officers retire or go to neighboring departments that provide equal or better salaries.
“I believe that the reason that we are so far behind is that 63% of our officers live outside of the county and have to drive through those other jurisdictions to get to Arlington,” he said.
In the past several years, the department changed its pay structure to a “step system,” which the union has supported. The system pays based on an officer’s time with the department, which prevents junior officers from making more than senior officers, something he claims happened under the previous system.
“It’s great for recruiting, and that’s why most police departments, both in the area and nationally, use a step system, because they don’t want to deal with the compression issues of someone being leapfrogged,” he said.
The problem now is the current funding isn’t enough to adequately transition to the new pay structure.
In fiscal year 2024, the budget from the county board included $520,000 that was earmarked for giving most members a 10% increase for the step-up transition. This year, the proposed budget doesn’t specifically mark any money for the transition, which Mason said is problematic.
He said the tax rate hike would help not only fill vacancies but also make the department more competitive in pay, so officers don’t leave for equal paying gigs closer to home.
“I completely understand this is an enormous ask,” he said.
Firefighters agree on “increasing wages across the board”
The union representing Arlington firefighters joined the police union in its request, saying the Arlington County Fire Department is experiencing record attrition levels and vacancies.
“Last April, the County Board identified addressing pay compression for firefighters as a priority
for FY25 but our members are still waiting for relief,” said Brian Lynch, president of the Arlington Professional Firefighters and Paramedics Association, in a statement on Monday.
“Meanwhile, other communities are responding to the nationwide shortage of firefighters and police officers by increasing wages across the board,” he added.
Arlington County Manager Mark Schwartz’s proposed FY2025 budget recommends $10.1 million in service and program reductions across county departments and a 1.5-cent tax increase, according to Arlington County Board Chair Libby Garvey.
“The Board is aware of the many critical needs facing our community — including budget challenges in Arlington Public Schools — that need to be addressed. The Board will deliberate on this [Tuesday] and will determine the upper limit on a tax rate increase to be considered during this budget cycle,” Garvey said in a statement to WTOP.
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