FMPD union meets with city for higher salary

The Fort Myers Police Department union will meet with the city to fight for a $5 an-hour raise.

The union said the current salary is causing a shortage of active-duty officers.

Another issue is that 911 operators are operating at 60% staffing, which means officers have to leave the streets to fill dispatcher gaps. 

City Councilman Johnny Streets said they are not ignoring this issue and hope to come to a resolution soon. 

“We give our police officers incentives to come to work. We give police officers incentives to have places to live,” said Streets, “so it’s not like we are turning a deaf ear. Again, I’m very hopeful and comfortable saying that we will meet the needs of the request.”

The president of the union, John Price, said they need this deal now because he fears the number of officers will continue to go down if salaries don’t go up.

“What we’re asking for is a $5 an hour raise. That seems like a lot, but it only makes us about third in the area for pay to be competitive for recruiting,” said Price. “Their offer and our offer are about $600,000 apart, which could easily have been covered by the turnover rate that’s happened since we began negotiations.”

The meeting got underway at 1 p.m. on Monday.