Goldsboro considers pay raises for police and firefighters amid staffing shortages

Goldsboro leaders could decide on Tuesday night whether to raise salaries for police and firefighters in the city.

The police and fire chiefs are making a plea for the pay raises, saying they're needed to address staffing shortages that are a threat to public safety.

Goldsboro's downtown public safety complex hosts both the police and fire departments.

At a council work session on Tuesday, the leaders of those departments will both address the city council, calling for salary increases for their staff.

The Goldsboro Police Department says as of last month, nearly 34% of officer positions are vacant.

Data provided by the Goldsboro Fire Department shows close to 15% of firefighter positions are unstaffed.

Both departments say their current salaries are too low to attract and keep staff in Goldsboro.

Goldsboro police said the starting salary for officers is the second-lowest among comparable cities in the area.

For firefighters, it's the lowest starting pay among comparable cities in eastern North Carolina.

“I’m very concerned,” Luminous Joy Candles owner Sheila Jones Darden told WRAL News. “Because if they’re that understaffed, then that means as far as the crime rate, the city’s not covered as good as we need to be.”

Data shows the overall crime rate in Goldsboro is up 13% compared to last year, and calls for fire services jumped 53% from June to July.

“The more [staff] we lose, the less safe that it becomes all the way around for the citizens and the first responders,” Goldsboro Fire Chief Ron Stempien told WRAL News.

“We need to have full staff, and with that low percentage, I just don’t feel that we’re covered,” Darden said.

The police department is asking the city to raise starting officer salaries from just over $41,000 to as much as $50,000.

The fire department is proposing a raise from over $38,000 to as much as $43,000.

WRAL News reached out to every Goldsboro city council member and the mayor to ask if they'd support the raises.

Council members Hiawatha Jones and Bill Broadaway responded, saying they support pay raises for police and fire, and are reviewing the pay plans submitted by the departments.

Multiple downtown business owners also say they would support the raises for police and fire, saying they believe more staffing is needed to protect their community.

“And if increasing the wages will help us to get more, yes, I’m definitely for that,” Darden said.