Seat Pleasant council approves police recruitment and retention plan amid staffing shortfall

Seat Pleasant — The City Council voted unanimously on Jan. 5 to approve a recruitment and retention plan aimed at stabilizing the Seat Pleasant Police Department, which officials said is operating well below the staff needed for routine 24‑hour coverage.

At the council’s regular work session, the police representative told members the department has hired more than 85 officers since 2016 but currently lists 14 vacancies and roughly 24 officers on the books; after removing command staff, recruits and an officer on medical leave, the speaker said the department relies on roughly 10 officers for continuous coverage. The plan presented to the council lays out a five‑year package of salary and benefit changes with a first‑year cost estimated at about $500,000.

The presenter framed the proposal as a cost‑effective alternative to repeatedly hiring and training new recruits, noting that experienced officers are being recruited away by neighboring jurisdictions offering higher pay. The staff report and the compensation study cited in committee work recommend moving salaries toward the midpoint of comparable jurisdictions rather than the top of the market.

Council discussion focused on two linked issues: how quickly higher pay and benefits could halt the current turnover and whether the recruitment plan should be coordinated with a broader, city‑wide compensation review. One council member urged immediate action because, the member said, the department was losing officers week to week. Another council member encouraged HR to finalize its review quickly so recruitment spending would be paired with updated job postings and applicant outreach.

The plan’s proposed funding sources included automated‑enforcement revenue; the police presenter said automated‑enforcement funds are restricted but could support some or all of the package depending on council direction.

Council members who spoke in favor cited recent reductions in reported crime and the difficulty of competing with county, federal and nearby municipal salaries for experienced officers. Several council members asked that the HR office, which is involved in reviewing the proposal, publish a short implementation timeline and monitoring benchmarks to accompany the salary adjustments.

The council approved the recruitment and retention plan by recorded motion and unanimous vote. The plan will move to implementation steps guided by HR and the city manager’s office, with follow‑up reporting to the council.