The Mesquite City Council directed staff to return with more detailed analysis of public‑safety pay after a broad briefing showed Mesquite trails several peer cities in base pay and faces market pressure.

City staff presented side‑by‑side base‑pay comparisons for police and fire against seven peer cities and emphasized that "there will be no apples and apples comparisons from one city to the next" because of differing incentive packages, step plans, and benefit structures. Staff also highlighted that police and fire account for more than half of the general fund and that roughly 90% of those departmental budgets are for personnel.

Council members pressed for more detail. Councilmember Jeff Casper asked for context on departures and whether employees who left started collecting retirement and pay from other agencies. Staff provided a summary of separations from January 2020 through April 2025 and said the department had 112 departures and had hired 135 officers during that period; 22 officers went to other agencies and 9 of those were retirement‑eligible at separation.

Specific follow‑up requests from council included: hourly‑rate comparisons (to account for differing shift patterns and overtime), detailed maximum‑pay and step‑plan data, a list of which peer cities provide take‑home vehicles and the terms, and a breakdown of incentive and assignment pay (bilingual pay, field‑training pay, certification/education stipends). The City Manager told council that staff will return with more detailed options at the upcoming July budget workshops, and that final funding options depend on preliminary tax‑roll results.

No pay increase or funding commitment was made at the meeting; council requested further research and scheduled additional budget briefings on July 7 and July 19 to consider concrete funding choices.