Sweeping proposals to address Pueblo PD staffing issues approved by city council

Pueblo City Council recently approved a trio of proposals that some city and Pueblo Police Department officials feel can help police with recruitment and retention amid ongoing staffing issues. 

City council members unanimously authorized at Monday's council meeting a one-time, $10,000 retention bonus for each sworn Pueblo PD staff member, the implementation of a quartermaster system and amendment of the department’s patrol officer salary schedule.

The estimated cost for all three measures is north of $2.2 million. American Rescue Plan Act funding will pay for the bonuses and the city will use money from the general fund to pay for the new salary structure and quartermaster system.

The proposals will go into effect immediately. The bonus will be paid next month to each patrol officer, police corporal and police sergeant employed by Pueblo PD as of July 1. The new pay schedule, which removes two steps and allows new and existing officers to obtain higher amounts of pay year over year compared to before, is effective that day.

Officers who are hired after that date will have their uniforms and duty equipment paid for by the city because of the quartermaster system, which previously required them to purchase their own uniforms, duty belts, handcuffs and flashlights, among other items. Sworn officers will also receive allowances they can use to pay for uniforms and non-uniform related items.

The sweeping changes should help Pueblo PD navigate its ongoing staffing issues, as the department continues to experience difficulties in retaining and recruiting officers. The International Brotherhood of Police Officers Local 537 union sent a survey to 193 union members and command staff in March to determine why officers keep leaving Pueblo PD.

Many officers said through the survey that higher pay would be the top incentive that would make them stay in their job. Other responses included “better leadership” and “more support from command staff” as things that would keep officers from leaving. Some responded that poor morale and administration issues were the main reasons they’d leave.

Support for the new measures had been building for months and reached a climax at Monday's meeting as multiple Pueblo PD officers and community members came forward to share their support.

“It’s become a cutthroat business, essentially, trying to get police officers, so anything we can do to keep the officers we do have is a huge step forward for the city,” Jimmie Quintana, president of the IBPO Local 537 union, said before council voted on the proposals. “We can’t afford to lose anybody else.”

More: Pueblo police resignations hit four-year high in 2022; majority leaving for other police jobs

Quintana in April called recruitment among police departments a “bidding war,” as many departments in other parts of the state had more competitive entry-level pay for officers compared to Pueblo. Despite other recent measures that increased entry-level pay for new Pueblo hires, Pueblo PD's starting officer salary of $58,137 per year was still short of what some other Colorado departments offer.

The new pay schedule is designed to change that.

Entry-level hires will now start at a rate of $5,656 per month, or $67,872 per year. Incumbent officers will remain at their current rate but can expect higher pay year to year compared to what they were entitled to under the previous schedule.

Pueblo PD Chief Chris Noeller during the meeting said he suspects the amendment to the pay schedule could attract quality candidates and make it more attractive for officers in other departments to make a lateral jump to Pueblo.

“Our officers have committed to this community and the city of Pueblo,” Noeller said. “I 100% support these changes and believe that they will have a positive impact on our department, morale and our ability to recruit and more importantly, retain our officers.”

Quintana in an interview with the Chieftain commended the changes and said Pueblo PD could see an immediate impact in its hiring because the amendments are effective right away. Noeller called the introduction of a quartermaster system “long overdue.”

“With it being unanimous, it shows that (city council) is looking out for the police department,” Quintana said.

Support from city council to adopt the bonus, new salary schedule and quartermaster system had been viewed as a certainty ever since Pueblo PD and the union started sharing their concerns. Councilors Regina Maestri and Lori Winner last week questioned whether the city might try to address the reported morale issues that came out of the survey first, suspecting it could also improve retention, and if Pueblo PD planned to address it.

The questioning led to a tame quarrel between them, other councilors and Mayor Nick Gradisar.

Maestri told the Chieftain she had planned to vote for the proposals all along but wanted to ask Pueblo PD what it planned to do about its workplace since poor morale was one of the more frequent responses in the survey. She said her questions also came from a place of "trying to be a responsible fiscal steward" of taxpayer dollars.

Council President Heather Graham said she felt some of the questions from Maestri and Winner showed a lack of support for Pueblo PD. Maestri said she is not "anti-police" and just wanted the public to be aware of other details and effects the new proposals could have on the general fund.

Winner said she didn't indicate she wouldn't support the plan and asked questions because she wondered whether the issue with recruitment and retention was tied to money or the morale issues the officers reported in the survey.

Maestri and Winner ultimately voted for all of the measures alongside councilors Dennis Flores and Sarah Martinez and Graham. Councilor Vicente Martinez Ortega abstained from each vote.

Noeller addressed those questions about morale from Maestri and Winner during Monday’s meeting and said he acknowledges that “more changes need to be made” within Pueblo PD.

“I understand that we need to continue to develop leadership capacity, enhance accountability and recognize when the right things are happening and when they aren’t,” Noeller said.

Noeller also mentioned that Pueblo PD brought in consultants from an executive leadership group to evaluate the department. They identified several “key anchor points for improvement” and “system changes” that Noeller said Pueblo PD intends to implement to improve the “overall workplace.”

As of June 30, the number of sworn staff at Pueblo PD was 184 — 47 below its authorized strength of 231 — while calls for service have likely increased this summer, a Pueblo PD spokesperson said. In April, Pueblo PD reported a sworn staff of 187.

Chieftain reporter Josue Perez can be reached at JHPerez@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @josuepwrites. Support local news, subscribe to the Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo PD officers to receive bonuses, new salary schedule