The South Fulton City Council on Tuesday night unanimously approved an incentive aimed at retaining cops as departments across the metro area struggle to attract and keep officers.
The one-time $3,000 bonus is for officers who’ve been with the department at least 90 days and agree to sign a three-year commitment to stay.
For a unanimous approval, the measure took a rocky path.
The effort was passed by the council Jan. 25, but Mayor Khalid Kamau vetoed. He said he did so not because of the content, but on principle. He said he wants to make meetings themed, so because this was a human resources issue he wanted to take it up at an HR-themed meeting.
Council members pushed back on that, saying he needs to introduce legislation to change the process. Kamau said he thinks communication with the council is going well, but asserted that the former mayor ran and lost for the seat, so the council needs to get used to how he communicates.
“This is not right, leave the former mayor’s name out of your mouth,” said South Fulton Councilwoman Helen Zenobia Willis. When they were both council members, she and Kamau pushed for each other to be investigated or ousted from council.
As for the retention bonus, a city news release said the police department will use salary savings from other positions to fund the bonuses.
“The retention and hiring incentives allow us to remain competitive among other law enforcement agencies in the region, especially during the pandemic, when recruitment has been a challenge,” said South Fulton’s police chief Keith Meadows in the news release.
The city has already instituted a pilot program to offer 25 cops and firefighter $450 a month to live in South Fulton.
The competition is stiff out there: The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office is offering a $9,000 hiring bonus, Alpharetta with give cops $2,000 for referring a successful recruit and Sandy Springs gave their officers a 20% raise in September.
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