Sterling council hikes pay to recruit, retain police officers

STERLING — The Sterling City Council voted Monday night to increase police officers’ wages in fiscal 2025, increase holiday pay, extend the collective bargaining agreement until 2027 and give 3% wage increases in each of those 2 additional years.

The decision aims to address recruitment and retention difficulties experienced by the Sterling Police Department and neighboring law enforcement agencies in recent years. This heightened pressure has prompted significant wage and benefit increases by local, state and federal agencies to entice potential candidates.

“Everybody’s been experiencing the same shortage of qualified applicants, and we’re no different,” said Sterling Police Chief Alex Chavira. “We’ve felt it. Either folks are leaving the professional all together or individuals going to college decide that they’re going to change their major for whatever reason.”

Departments also are seeing a migration of officers to state agencies, such as the Illinois State Patrol and Illinois Gaming Board, which offer more lucrative compensation packages, according to documents provided with the council agenda. The SPD has nearly doubled the number of times it has tested for candidates over the past few years due to a lack of qualified candidates applying to the department.

To address the obstacles, city staff and community representatives drafted a proposed side letter agreement to increase the wage package established in the collective bargaining agreement reached between the city and the Fraternal Order of Police Labor Council on Nov. 10, 2021.

The changes increase wages, depending on the pay step, between 7% and 9% in fiscal 2025. Officers’ holiday pay will also increase from 5.5% to 6% of the officers’ base wage. The term of the original collective bargaining agreement will also be extended by 2 years with a new final term date of April 30, 2027, and includes a 3% pay increase for each of those years.

“We understand that we’re never going to be able to match the Illinois State Police,” Chavira said. “But they have a hard time matching the salaries of the suburbs. This side letter agreement makes us more competitive locally.”

Alderman At-Large Jim Wise said the changes will help keep officers in the community, calling it a “win-win” for the city and the police department.

The Sterling Police Department is accepting applications until May 29 for its next round of hiring. Applications can be picked up at the Sterling Police Department Administration Office or online at the City of Sterling website.