(Omaha, NE) -- A proposal is put forward that would increase pay for Omaha Police officers.
On Wednesday, Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert and Tony Conner, the President of the Omaha Police Officers Association, announced the proposal which would give officers a 15% pay increase. Stothert says the move is needed to improve recruitment. The Omaha Police Department is currently 83 officers short of being fully staffed.
Stothert says the most recent recruiting effort only netted 340 qualified applicants. In previous years that number was much higher, 1,600-1,800 applicants. The plan proposes increasing annual police salaries in 2024 up to $70,928. It would also increase training pay from $51,875 annually to $61,772.
OPOA members will have to vote on the proposal, that will take place between May 15th and May 19th. After that, OPOA's personnel board will vote on the measure on May 25th. It will then be forwarded on to the Omaha City Council, which is expected to vote on in at the end of June.