Youngsville council adopts new police pay plan after lengthy debate over years-of-service credits

The Youngsville City Council on July 10 adopted a new Youngsville Police Department pay plan and salary schedule designed to raise starting pay and simplify rank- and year-based steps for officers.

Consultant Dr. Dussay told the council the plan raises base pay to $45,000 and reduces rank differentials to meet state minimums. "No 1 is receiving a decrease in pay under the proposed plan," she said during the presentation. The administration also proposed implementation rules intended to limit future ad‑hoc salary changes and to clarify annual increases.

Council members and members of the public debated several implementation details for more than two hours. A recurring issue was how to treat years of creditable service that previous administrations had sometimes granted to recruits from other agencies. Dr. Dussay said the administration recommends that creditable service for placement on the Youngsville matrix be limited to "full time, continuous enforcement service with the Youngsville Police Department." She described prior practice as allowing hiring credit at a one‑to‑one ratio up to five years but said that policy was being removed for future hires.

Chief Broussard and members of the department urged council members to consider the practical effect on retention and promotions. Officer Hardy said prior hires who entered with higher salaries will have retirement and pay differences that "affect my retirement," while Officer Burgess said morale concerns made the issue urgent.

Council members discussed three uniformed officers and one support staff position identified in the staff implementation rules as persons whose pay would be "held" (0% increase) until the matrix caught up. Staff explained that holding pay does not reduce the current salary; rather, it delays step increases for those individuals until the matrix aligns. The council considered — and rejected for lack of consensus — forcing those individuals to receive the general annual increase immediately. Some council members argued holding pay preserves equity for longer‑tenured officers; others said the council should find a way to compensate officers who have been at the city longer.

The ordinance adopted by the council included amendments read into the record during the meeting. Those amendments: remove the assistant chief position from the pay matrix (it remains an option if funded later), add a rule that if an employee's pay exceeds the matrix the employee's rate shall be held at 0% until the matrix catches up, and clarify that only continuous Youngsville enforcement service counts for creditable service. The council also directed staff to explore recruitment incentives and asked for an Attorney General opinion about whether certain sign‑on or bonus mechanisms would be permissible under state law.

Councilmember Romero moved to adopt the ordinance as amended. The motion carried on a roll-call vote; the clerk recorded the ayes called by name. The plan will be implemented according to the rules adopted by council and integrated in the city's payroll schedule.

The vote followed extensive public comment from police personnel and residents urging both a timely correction of pay inequities and caution about granting ad‑hoc higher starting salaries that would create future disparity.

The ordinance is listed in the meeting packet as Ordinance 462.1‑2025 (Police Department pay plan).