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Greenwood touts expanded police, fire staffing and new equipment as recruitment pressures rise
Summary
Mayor Mark Myers outlined increases in police and fire staffing, pay adjustments and equipment investments — including virtual-reality training, new body cameras and two fire engines — as the city responds to recruitment challenges and heavy demand for medical response.
Mayor Mark Myers said Greenwood is expanding public-safety staffing and investing in training and equipment to respond to a nationwide shortage of recruits and rising service demand.
In his State of the City address, Mayor Mark Myers said Greenwood will have 82 full-time police officers and 10 full-time civilian employees in 2025 and that the city plans roughly $13.5 million in police spending next year. "We've steadily raised the salaries and the benefits each year," Myers said, noting that Common Council approved a 6.2% raise for police for 2025 that brings the base salary to just over $78,000. The city also contributes an amount equal to 20% of base pay toward officers' pensions.
Myers described investments in training and equipment, including Axon virtual-reality training, new body cameras and upgraded ballistic vests and rifle-rated plates. For the fire department, he highlighted a new internal academy that trained recruits without prior fire certification; 374 applicants competed for 21 trainee slots, producing a class that includes four military veterans and six college graduates. Twenty of those 21 recruits were expected to graduate in March.
The mayor said the city funded two new fire engines placed into service in 2024 and recently added a tiller ladder truck with a 100-foot ladder to serve taller, newer buildings downtown. He also described a new Station 95 — to break ground in spring on the southeast side off Graham Road — that will house 12 firefighters and include a training facility the city will make available to other local departments.
Separately, the mayor said the city has implemented a rescue-squad model to follow ambulances with two EMTs in an SUV, reducing wear and fuel costs compared with dispatching million-dollar engines for medical calls.
The chief read a life‑saving response from June 12, 2024, in which "Officer Anthony Swofford responded to 1241 Scarborough Lane on a report of a 6-day-old infant that was not breathing... Officer Swofford immediately took the infant from the parents and began CPR procedures... the infant began to cry," and was transported to a local hospital and made a full recovery.
Myers said recruiting remains difficult as nearby departments advertise openings and compete for candidates; Greenwood is responding with pay increases, benefit contributions and investments in training and equipment to retain and attract staff.
Ending: The mayor framed the staffing and equipment investments as foundational to Greenwood's broader goals for growth and safety, and pointed to the new academy graduates and Station 95 as near-term steps to meet demand.
