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Brentwood staff propose midyear bump in police vehicle allowance and shift differential to slow turnover
Summary
City police leadership proposed raising the vehicle allowance from $2,400 to $5,000 per sworn employee and increasing evening/midnight shift differentials to address retention challenges and competitive recruitment from neighboring jurisdictions that offer take‑home vehicles and higher pay.
Brentwood’s police leadership told commissioners they are seeing officers leave for neighboring agencies offering higher pay and take‑home vehicles, and asked the commission to consider a midyear package intended to slow turnover while a full compensation study proceeds.
Chief Colvin (introduced at the briefing) said the department is an average of about 5.6 officers short over the past three years and is losing officers to Franklin and Williamson County where starting pay and vehicle benefits are often higher. The midyear package presented includes: increasing the annual vehicle allowance for sworn personnel from $2,400 to $5,000 (estimated annual impact of $145,600 at full staffing) and raising evening and midnight shift differentials (combined estimated impact $67,900). Staff proposed funding the midyear changes from salary‑savings in the current budget (vacant positions) and absorbing the cost in the current year while including the ongoing cost in next year’s budget.
“If we were full staff, we’re fortunate to get there,” the Chair said summarizing the financial math; Chief Colvin described the competition and noted that some officers accept short‑term take‑home vehicle offers despite potential long‑term retirement tradeoffs. “Right now we have 111 applications for this current testing process,” Chief Colvin said when discussing applicant pools and recruitment trends.
Commissioners discussed alternatives — moving to larger base salary increases versus allowances or offering take‑home vehicles — and expressed general support for a midyear approach to slow immediate attrition while continuing a comprehensive compensation review in the formal budget process.
What’s next: Staff said it will draft documents to place the vehicle‑allowance and shift‑differential proposals on a future commission agenda for formal action.
