CENTERTON, Ark. — At a Centerton City Council meeting on June 11, the council voted to increase pay for the Centerton Police Department (CPD) in hopes that it will draw applicants to the growing city.
As Centerton is considered a smaller town, they're competing to keep up with larger neighboring cities in Northwest Arkansas to get the best officers, especially as growth is seen not just in Centerton but throughout the entire region.
According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Centerton is the sixth fastest growing city in the U.S. of those with at least 20,000 residents. Espitia said they need the extra officers to keep up, as they currently have three positions open.
"The goal for Chief Harper was to make us the highest paid smaller agency in the county," said Corporal Christian Espitia, with CPD. "The department's a lot smaller, so it gives more of a more personal relationship with your coworkers. Everyone knows everyone."
Rates for the department now look like this:
- $55,426.80 starting salary for uncertified applicants
- Up to $62,266.80 for transfers/full time certified officers with five years of experience
- Current officers will see an increase of $4 more an hour
Centerton Mayor Bill Edwards said at Tuesday's city council meeting that they struggle to get applicants and it's getting competitive within cities.
“I think this would make us very competitive and be able to hire some officers because right now it's just tough. I've been talking to Captain Kelly, and he feels like if we do this, we should be able to fill our positions pretty easy,” Edwards said.
Espitia says this increase is much closer to what the some of the neighboring cities are seeing.
"The starting pay now is just under what Rogers and Bentonville are starting at," Espitia said. "Depending on experience, you could have a higher pay and with Centerton, we can hire you in at that higher pay immediately, rather than waiting a year more to move up to that higher pay."
Espitia said they've already seen an impact in their current officers.
"It's definitely made them more excited and more eager to get out and continue to give a positive influence in our community here," Espitia shared.
"There's still a lot of extra crime that comes with bringing in more and more people," Espitia added. "That's going to be a huge benefit to raising the salary, because then we can hopefully recruit more officers, hopefully in the future, request to have more positions added to the to the department."
Espitia there's many benefits to working in a smaller community, and now they have the pay to reflect that.
"They don't have to deal with the population density, the number of officers, the amount of call volume that they have here in Centerton. It's more of a small-town feel," Espitia explained.
Officers will see the new rate on their next paycheck.
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