Council approves request to restructure Surfside Beach Police Department

SURFSIDE BEACH, SC (WMBF) – The Surfside Beach Police Department is preparing for changes that will hopefully allow the department to grow.

During Monday night’s city council meeting, interim police chief Kenneth Davis asked the city council for support in terminating two positions in the department to give officers more pay to keep them.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE | The Surfside Beach Police Department is considering a restructuring to help recruit and retain officers

Davis said dissolving the lieutenant and second investigator positions would allow the department to reallocate salaries to encourage candidates to apply for one of the numerous officer vacancies and keep them recruited to another department that might pay more.

The proposal is “budget neutral,” meaning it would not require additional funding from the city.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW VIDEO

With this move, the city can now offer officers a starting salary of approximately $53,000, an increase of $10,000 over the previous starting salary.

After a short question about the usefulness of the positions being terminated and their impact on the city’s safety, the council finally approved this proposal.

Stay up to date with WMBF news.

Copyright 2024 WMBF. All rights reserved.