PARIS, Texas — City councilmembers at a special budget workshop Aug. 22 discussed increasing the Paris Police Department starting salary to improve recruitment and retention, with several members expressing support for a $70,000 starting salary but without a recorded formal vote.

Councilmembers and the police chief framed the pay increase as a tool to slow the loss of officers to nearby departments that pay more. Police Chief Salter told the council that Paris routinely loses trained officers to higher-paying nearby agencies and estimated the city spends about $100,000 to recruit and train a new sworn officer once recruitment, training and travel are included. "Until we can establish a good pay gap between us and Lamar County, we're going to continue to lose officers at a high rate," Chief Salter said.

The discussion reviewed three figures that had been under consideration: $66,000, $68,000 and $70,000. Several councilmembers voiced support for the highest figure. "I am favoring 70 as well," one councilmember said during the workshop. Another said that a $70,000 starting salary would show the city "stands behind its police" and would help retain officers who are being recruited regionally.

Chief Salter described local competition as the main driver of turnover. He said the department once had dozens of applicants for an exam and now frequently gets fewer than 10, and that a three-year officer can be recruited away to a nearby city offering tens of thousands more in pay. He also said the department averages recruiting and placing about six to seven new officers on the street each year but then loses many to other agencies.

Council members discussed trade-offs. One member argued for starting at $66,000 with the option to increase later, saying that $66,000 already represents a substantial increase (about 18% relative to a previously discussed baseline). Others argued a higher starting salary is necessary to create an immediate pay gap with nearby departments, and several cited examples of neighboring cities with substantially higher pay.

No final formal vote on a salary figure was recorded in the workshop transcript; councilmembers directed staff to prepare final documents for the upcoming meetings where the budget and tax rate will be considered.

Ending: Councilmembers said they expect to finalize budget and tax-rate items at meetings in September. The city will schedule public hearings and is expected to consider formal adoption of the budget and any tax-rate changes at the regular council meeting on Sept. 9 and a special meeting Sept. 10 to ratify a property tax increase if needed.