A lieutenant speaking for the Columbia Police Lieutenants Association told the Columbia City Council at a Sept. 2 pre-council pre-meeting that pay compression—hourly sergeants earning large amounts of overtime that allow them to out-earn salaried lieutenants—is reducing interest in promotion and risks the department’s leadership pipeline.

The lieutenant, speaking on behalf of the Columbia Police Lieutenants Association, said the city offered a citywide raise of about 3.5% while the association sought a 5% immediate increase and described an “overnight fix” that would require a 17.5% adjustment to make it difficult for sergeants to out-earn lieutenants.

Nut graf: The association argued that the combination of unchanged pay scales and plentiful overtime for hourly supervisors has produced a situation in which subordinates can earn more than their supervisors, undermining promotion incentives. The council voted to move into a closed session to discuss labor negotiations under a Missouri statute after the presentation.

In the presentation the lieutenant said the association reformed in 2022 and negotiated a written collective bargaining agreement in 2023 but has seen limited progress since. The group reported 8 lieutenants and about 25 sergeants in the department. Citing recent payroll data, the lieutenant said that in fiscal 2023 nine sergeants earned more than at least one lieutenant and five sergeants earned more than all lieutenants; the most recent year, he said, showed 11 sergeants out-earning at least one lieutenant and six out-earning all lieutenants, with one sergeant also out-earning an assistant chief. "It should be difficult to out earn your supervisor," the lieutenant said.

Council members asked about causes and remedies. A councilmember asked whether staffing shortages among sergeants were leading to increased overtime; the lieutenant and another lieutenant who spoke said overtime is widely available for planned special events and unplanned incidents and is not solely a product of understaffing. The Columbia Police Chief said city ordinance and department practice aim to equalize planned overtime through sign-ups, while unplanned overtime arises from incidents that require immediate response.

On remedies, the association proposed an initial targeted increase larger than the citywide raise to create a wage gap between sergeants and lieutenants and discussed alternative or additional benefits: vehicle take-home or a vehicle stipend, changes to vacation accrual rules, holiday scheduling protections, and pension considerations. The lieutenant said some members preferred discussing moving to the Local Government Employees Retirement System (LAGERS) for future hires, but that decisions about pension plan enrollment would be personal and subject to LAGERS rules.

The lieutenant gave a rough fiscal estimate for a full “overnight fix”: raising lieutenant pay into the low- to mid‑$120,000 range would cost roughly $147,000 for lieutenants alone and would require additional adjustments for three assistant chiefs; presenters estimated the total near $180,000 and not more than $200,000. The lieutenant characterized those figures as approximate and tied to internal payroll and pension calculations.

The council discussion also touched on promotion mechanics: the department opens promotion processes annually or biennially (sergeant annually, lieutenant commonly every two years). Presenters said there is currently a lieutenant eligibility list with one person on it and a second person who withdrew, and warned that several senior command officers (assistant chief level and above) will be eligible to retire within months, increasing urgency.

Distinguishing discussion from action: the presentation and council questions were discussion only. After the presentation the council moved to a closed meeting to discuss labor negotiations. The mayor (identified in the transcript only by title) made a motion that the council "immediately go into a closed meeting" to discuss negotiations "pursuant to section 6 10.0219 of the revised statutes of Missouri." The motion was seconded by a councilmember referred to as Nick; the roll-call vote recorded affirmative votes by Waterman, Peters, Buffalo, Carroll, Elwood, Sample and Foster. The council voted to go into closed session; no public decisions about pay were made in the public portion of the meeting.

Why it matters: Council members and police leaders said the issue affects succession planning and public safety continuity if qualified officers decline promotion. The lieutenants framed the request as a targeted corrective to prevent loss of internal candidates for command-level positions while acknowledging broader classification and compensation work would be required over time.

The lieutenants' presentation is scheduled in the council's negotiation timeline; the association said its collective bargaining agreement is up for renegotiation next year. The council indicated it would discuss the matter further in closed session under the Missouri statute cited and follow up as part of ongoing labor talks and upcoming budget decisions.