FORT PIERCE, Fla — Fort Pierce police officers complained about pay, staffing levels, equipment and training for more than an hour to Fort Pierce's City Commission on Monday night.
“I spent a month and a half with one shirt because we have no money,” said one officer at the podium in the meeting. "A new officer, who just started as well in training, had to borrow my shirt for his swearing-in ceremony. It's embarrassing.”
The union representing the city's police officers is beginning negotiations with the city. It plans on making pay a top priority since the city's top level for pay, $78,840, is less than the starting salary for officers in Boca Raton.
Fort Pierce
'Overworked and underpaid:' Police union asking City Commission for more pay
Regardless the wants of police officers, the city will face a money problem while trying to compete with other agencies. Fort Pierce’s entire budget was about $59 million, according to city documents, while records show the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office budget was about $95 million.
District 2 Commissioner Michael Broderick said the city doesn’t have enough money to fulfill its needs as a city.
“We don’t have sufficient funds to cover all of our needs,” Broderick said. “Public safety, obviously, is the number one priority. It has to be so we have to allocate funds differently to cover those costs.”
Police Officer Noah Clark said he’s struggling to make ends meet as a single dad with two kids. He said he’s doing two people’s job while working at a “training ground” department with perpetual problems.
“Currently, I’m coming up to a crossroads,” Clark said. “There are many nights I’m not getting enough sleep at all. Currently, this department isn’t maintainable in the long run for the care and provision of my family.”
Detective Kevin Mohammed with the Fort Pierce Police Department, also said he knows multiple officers left the department because they couldn’t provide for their families.
WPTV’s Ethan Stein uncovered a survey from the union representing the city’s police officers. It shows that the problems within the department go beyond salaries.
Of the 65 people who filled out the survey, about 20 officers said they would rank the possibility of leaving the department in six months to a year as 8 or higher. According to a presentation from Fort Pierce Police, that’s about 30% of their sworn officers not including conditional officers.
Staff also said they didn’t approve of training opportunities, communication from management, mental health resources, equipment along with inclusion and diversity efforts.
But, pay was the overall issue as one officer said he works 30 hours of overtime to supplement their income.
April Lee, a spokesperson for the department, shared with us a PowerPoint with around 87 slides showing the department’s work.
Power Point From Fort Pierce Police Department
Fabian Zamora, who is the head of the police's union, referred to WPTV’s Ethan Stein interview with Mayor Linda Hudson where she asked him how to solve gun violence in Fort Pierce. He said he had a better answer: better competitive pay to create better applicants and retain employees.
