Pay hike initially approved for Daytona Beach’s public safety personnel.

Written by Kristen Schmutz

Belden Communications News 

Daytona Beach’s City Commission gave initial approval Wednesday for a $3 per hour raise for the Daytona Beach Police Department and a $1.54 per hour raise for the Daytona Beach Fire Department, effective July 3. These steps taken by the City Commission are the first in approving several new strategies to attract recruits and entice more personnel to stay.

“Public safety will always be among my top priorities. Daytona Beach is experiencing significant growth as more people move to our community. I challenged city management to develop a multi-prong plan to help recruit and retain more officers,” said Mayor Derrick L. Henry.

According to a release, Daytona Beach currently has 41 vacancies in its police department with 242 budgeted sworn positions, while Daytona Beach’s Fire Department has 105 certified firefighters.

“Our elected officials are committed to investing in the city’s public safety programs. With these changes, Daytona Beach police officers will become the highest-paid law enforcement agency in Volusia County and will make the department competitive with much larger markets like Orange County and Orlando,” said Daytona Beach City Manager, Deric C. Feacher.

City Commissioners also have several other initiatives under consideration, including raising the outside detail pay for officers working at bars, nightclubs, and lounges in the core beachside area from $40 per hour to $60 per hour. Furthermore, officers working on such details between March 1 through April 30 and Biketoberfest will receive $80 per hour. In addition to the new incentives, the city will continue to offer paid academy tuition, overtime opportunities, regular pay increases, job security and generous retirement benefits.

“Daytona Beach attracts big crowds for its signature special events. With the new pay ranges and incentives, officers will be fairly compensated for the extra work it takes to provide services in our dynamic community,” said Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young. “By this Halloween, all officers wearing a DBPD uniform will have a base salary north of $50,000 per year, this is before built-in overtime, shift differentials, education incentives, and numerous opportunities to work outside details and voluntary overtime.”   

The Commission also approved hourly rates and annual salaries for the police and fire departments to increase by 3% annually and amended the pension plan to reduce years of service from 25 years to 20 for both departments, as of October 1.

The City Commission will take a final vote to approve salary increases and other incentives at their July 6 meeting.