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Franklin adopts voluntary mental‑health reset program for police officers
Summary
The Franklin commission approved a voluntary mental-health program for police officers that provides participating officers two weeks off at three‑year milestones and up to two counseling sessions paid by the city; Major John Thompson said the program aims to reduce burnout and improve retention.
The Franklin City Commission voted Sept. 8 to adopt a voluntary mental-health “reset” benefit for police officers aimed at reducing burnout and improving retention.
Major John Thompson told the commission that law enforcement nationwide faces mental-health and retention challenges and described a program used by other agencies. “This program that I'm pitching to y'all today is basically it's optional to officers,” Thompson said, adding that participating officers would receive two weeks off at 3‑year milestones and meet twice with a certified first‑responder counselor during that time.
Thompson said counseling sessions would be paid by the city at $175 per session and that the city expects the total annual out‑of‑pocket counseling cost to the department to top out at about $3,000. Officers would receive paid salary while off and the chief would retain authority to approve or recall participants for operational needs. Requests would be submitted 30 days in advance.
Commissioners questioned overtime and coverage issues for officers who volunteer for the program; Thompson and other staff said the chief would schedule the program to avoid operational gaps and that the program is optional rather than mandatory.
The commission approved the program by motion; staff will bring the written policy back to a future meeting for formal adoption and include details about scheduling and coverage.
Why it matters: Commissioners said the program could reduce costly turnover and improve officer wellbeing, but they asked staff to ensure scheduling and overtime costs are managed so the department can maintain service levels.
