City approves police bonuses

Lynchburg City Council unanimously approved a new bonus program Tuesday to reward police officers who volunteer for special assignments or hold certain professional certifications.

“To me, the cost is worth it,” said Councilman Turner Perrow, adding the city needs to do more to boost retention within the police department and ensure it has experienced officers on the street.

More than one-fourth of Lynchburg’s police force currently has less than four years of experience.

“That’s concerning,” Perrow said. “We need to do better.”

The bonuses, which will be paid on an annual basis starting in August, will range from $333 for Breathalyzer operators to $3,000 for tactical team members and crisis negotiators.

Officers would only qualify for one type of bonus, unless they also serve as a foreign language translator, in which case they’d receive a second bonus of $1,333.

The program’s first-year costs, which are projected to reach $141,200, will be paid for out of personnel savings accrued in past police budgets.

Police Chief Parks Snead told council that he felt an “additional duties” bonus would be an important and effective way to reward officers who go beyond their minimum job requirements.

“I’m very much in favor of it,” agreed Mayor Joan Foster.

Funding for the “additional duties” bonus will be built into future city budgets. Based on current eligibility criteria, the maximum the program would disburse in any one year is about $240,000, which is comparable to a similar program provided by the fire department.

Since 2003, the fire department has offered “certification” bonuses to fire fighters who are also paramedics or hold other specified certifications. The fire department’s bonuses are given in June. This year, the total pay out added up to more than $256,000.

Council voted unanimously, with one absence, to approve the police department’s bonus program Tuesday. The appropriation of the needed funds must be put to a second vote at council’s next meeting in August, but that is largely a formality.

In other news:

— Council voted to raise the fine for illegally parking in a handicap space from $100 to $250.

The Lynchburg Parking Authority, acting at the request of the Central Virginia Disability Association, had recommended the higher fine in hopes of deterring violations.

The city’s past fine of $100 was the minimum allowed by state law. The maximum is $500. The parking authority had elected to recommend a mid-range penalty, although it said it would revisit the issue if the number of violations did not decline.

— Council agreed to ignore a mandate from the state that requires it to either cut $644,424 in state aid out of mandated programs, such as public safety or children’s services, or hand over a refund check.

Lynchburg officials have long resented this particular budget-balancing strategy, which the state has been using since fiscal year 2009.

If a locality ignores the state’s order, the state must step in and decide where to make the cuts. The city still plans to offset any reductions using local funds, which means its refusal to respond will have no practical implications for Lynchburg citizens, but it will make the process more burdensome for the state.

Council also passed a resolution urging the governor and General Assembly to discontinue this tactic in future budgets and to use part of the state’s current surplus, which is estimated at more than $200 million, to reverse funding cuts to localities.