DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Outgoing DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond says the county needs to significantly improve its police and fire department retirement plans to stem the decline in the number of on-the-street officers. He said there is.
Speaking with Channel 2 investigative reporter Mark Wynn, Thurmond said he doesn’t intend to tell the next CEO or county commissioners what to do, but he believes big changes are needed.
“We have a pension, but frankly it’s not a pension that can be competitive with other jurisdictions in metro Atlanta,” Thurmond said.
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He said dozens of police officer positions were added to the budget, but the county can’t fill the positions it already has.
Thurmond said the county needs to return to the solid retirement planning it had before the dramatic downsizing in 2005 and 2016.
“This is what we need to do to retain the quality people we train,” said Bob de Graaf, president of DeKalb County Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 10. “Returning to a pension similar to the original pension would be an incredible recruiting tool” for those interested in the career. And more importantly, it’s an incredible retention tool. ”
Mr Salmond said this would be expensive and there was not enough time to implement it before he leaves office at the end of the year.
As of July 8, there are 308 job openings for police officers.
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“We know this is a large budget, but public safety is our top priority. We have laid the foundation,” Thurmond said.
Since 2017, DeKalb County has increased public safety funding by more than 43 percent, including increasing police pay and providing retention incentives, he said.
“Last year we saw a 10% drop in murders and we are tracking a similar reduction in murders by 2024,” Mr Salmond said.
He said DeKalb County’s men and women in uniform are doing a great job and hopes the next administration will do everything possible to get the job done and get them what they need. he said.
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