As Lake Charles Police Chief Don Dixon seeks to fill vacant posts in his department, he is fighting to raise pay for his employees.

The department, which is down nine officers, will hold a job fair Jan. 10 at the Lake Charles Civic Center.

“We want qualified applicants across the board,” Dixon said. “We know there is about to be an influx of foreign workers, and there’s going to be a communication issue.”

If the department can reach its full 189-member complement, it can then begin working to fill seven more positions made available through grants, Dixon said.

“We’re looking at best-case scenario, a year from this April before the ones we hire are riding alone on the city streets,” Dixon said. “We’re always behind the eight ball.”

The problem, he said, is that the pay is too poor to retain officers. Dixon has made it his fight to increase employee pay before he completes his current term, which he says will be his last.

“My sole goal before I retire is to see that my officers are paid what they deserve to be paid,” he said. “I will not apologize for it. I will speak to every group in this city. I will do what I have got to do.”

Of the officers to recently leave the department, two retired. But others left to join another law enforcement agency, and two left to take a job at another government agency.

“It’s a simple issue of pay,” Dixon said.

The City Council on Wednesday approved a 2 percent longevity raise, as well as a 2 percent across-the-board increase, for all city workers.

First-year city police officers will make $15.17 an hour, as well as $200 in supplemental pay from the city. After the first year, the $200 is replaced by a $500 supplement from the state.

“There’s no greater responsibility in the world than carrying a weapon on your hip and having to make split-second decisions about life and death,” Dixon said. The salary of officers “does not reflect that responsibility. Not even close.”

While Dixon said he appreciates the raises, “we’re going to need more than that.”

“We need to catch up, and we need to catch up fast,” he said. “I am confident that our mayor, City Council and administration realizes it, and I’ve got full confidence and faith that they’re going to make the necessary adjustments in all aspects, for all city employees.”

Mayor Randy Roach said the city had planned to put a quarter-cent sales tax on the ballot this fall, but was unable to for “procedural reasons.” The city is working to put the tax on the ballot next fall.

“What we’re doing now is what we can afford to do, but we recognize that we need to do more for all of our employees,” Roach said. “We need to increase pay to be more competitive and retain the people that are working for us.”

When an officer leaves, thousands of dollars in training is lost, Dixon said. Of two officers who left recently for more money at another agency, one was a member of the SWAT team and the other was bilingual. Dixon said that with economic expansion expected in the area, he is also concerned about losing officers to private industry.

“This city deserves first-class fire protection, police protection, public works,” he said. “This city cannot afford to hire quality people and then lose them because somebody else pays better.”

Dixon said the Police Department is routinely above the national average in clearance rates, a tally of crimes solved.

“When somebody is producing excellence they need to be paid like they’re producing,” he said. “At three in the morning, when somebody’s breaking in door, they don’t want the B-team showing up, they want the A-team showing up.”(MGNonline)