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Finance committee backs police referral pay incentive policy, forwards resolution to full council
Summary
The finance committee voted to forward a resolution allowing the Russell Police Department to pay employee referral incentives — $500 for new recruits and $1,000 for certified officers — with payouts tied to academy graduation or 90 days on the job.
Chairman Keller told the finance committee on March 10 that the first item on the agenda was a resolution to authorize pay incentives for employees who refer applicants hired by the Russell Police Department. The committee voted to forward the resolution to the full council with a recommendation of approval.
The police chief said the proposed incentive amounts are $500 for a new recruit and $1,000 for a certified officer. "The incentives we went with to start off this program was 500 for a new recruit and a thousand for a certified officer that's brought to our agency," the chief said, adding the program requires a period of service before payment: recruits must graduate the academy (about 14 weeks) and otherwise payments are tied to a 90‑day observation/verification period.
The chief said the policy was modeled after a similar program in Little Rock and that employee referrals help attract quality applicants. The committee discussed whether the city could recover training costs if recruits leave quickly; staff noted a state statute allows the city to bill another agency for approximately 50% of academy costs if the receiving agency hires someone the city sent to the academy within two years.
After brief discussion the committee asked that the resolution be forwarded to the full council; a voice vote forwarded the item with a recommendation of approval.
The full council will consider the resolution at its next meeting; the finance committee record shows no roll-call tally for the committee vote.
