NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans Police Officers may get a yearly raise, if a City Council ordinance continues moving forward.
The pay increase was discussed at a joint New Orleans City Council committee meeting today, as council members are looking for ways to recruit and retain officers.
As NOPD is dealing with a shortage of officers, The City Council and The Police Association of New Orleans (PANO), spent several hours discussing different ways to build the force.
One of the ordinances discussed would give NOPD employees a two percent annual pay raise if they've been with the department between 3-23 years.
Mayor Latoya Cantrell has her own pay plan to recruit and retain NOPD officers.
She's proposing bonuses for officers of $5,000 for recruits who complete training and an addition $5,000 payments every five years of service.
Michael Glasser with PANO believes the annual two percent raise would be better to retain officers.
"It’s a repetitive ongoing longevity plan. It presents an opportunity for officers to get a raise they can calculate and rely on every year," Glasser said.
The committee moved that ordinance forward, and it's now headed to the full council for a vote.