Moving through the ranks at the Columbus Police Department may get a little easier starting next month.
Chief Joseph Daughtry will ask the Civil Service Commission on Sept. 11 to allow him to change the way promotions for corporal and sergeant work. The commission will take up the proposed rule changes at a public hearing set for 4 p.m. on Sept. 11 in the public meeting room at City Hall.
Daughtry believes the effort will help with recruitment and retention.
As it stands now, a patrol officer makes $41,500, but there is no step pay system to grant raises over time. The way to get more money is to get promotions, starting with an exam for corporal.
Those tests have long been a bone of contention within the department. A group of officers who anonymously spoke to The Dispatch in March 2022 complained that tests are rarely given and very hard to pass.
Daughtry’s plan calls for eliminating the corporal exam entirely.
“Most agencies are getting away from the corporal’s exam,” he said. “We want to implement a policy where, once you’ve been with the department for six years, you’re automatically a corporal.”
Under the draft rule change, the six years must be “continuous and uninterrupted,” meaning officers can’t leave for another agency and then come back and still be automatically promoted.
While corporal is the first rank with supervisory responsibility, officers won’t be required to become supervisors upon being promoted, Daughtry said.
“Some people don’t want to be a supervisor,” Daughtry said. “Some people really enjoy patrol, or they really want to be a traffic officer or a DUI officer. … Why should we stop them from getting a pay bump if it means keeping them here?”
While the test for sergeant will remain, Daughtry wants to make the process more “appealing.”
If sergeant candidates take the test now and don’t get the promotion, they have to take it again the next time it’s offered.
“At most agencies, once you take the sergeant exam your scores are good for at least a year, sometimes two years,” Daughtry said. “Then if someone retires or resigns or gets promoted, we can just go back to the list, and (officers) don’t have to test over and over again.”
The testing process has been a major roadblock in the past, Daughtry said.
“A lot of these guys are working a lot of overtime to provide for their families because of the manpower shortages,” Daughtry said. “It’s hard for somebody to take an exam at 8 o’clock Monday morning when they worked 12 hours the night before, or worked Friday, Saturday and Sunday.”
Daughtry said he intends to hold the sergeant’s test once the new rules pass.
“(The tests) have not been given since I’ve been here,” Daughtry said. “If everything passes, we’re going to gear up to give that sergeant exam. … I have one tested sergeant in the whole department, and we’re slotted for six.”
Improving the testing and upwards mobility will both encourage officers to stay with the department and allow them to gain wide experience, Daughtry said.
“Let’s say you’re a detective and you want to take the sergeant exam,” Daughtry said. “If you get promoted, there’s a good possibility you’ll get moved to patrol as a supervisor. That opens up a slot for a detective, so somebody will probably move from patrol to fill that. There’s a lot of movement that will open up.”
That variety of experience will develop better leaders inside the department, Daughtry said.
“We can’t be fearful of somebody taking your place,” Daughtry said. “You should be training your replacement. We want to train (the department’s) future leaders, and we want them to be the best supervisors they can be.”
Daughtry said he’s also looking at instituting a step pay increase for officers based on their experience, with steps at three, six and nine years of service. The amounts of the raises have not been determined yet.
According to Human Resources Director Pat Mitchell, a corporal makes $45,500 now and a sergeant is paid $51,500.
Rules changes not unusual
Commission Chairman Gen. Thomas Moore told The Dispatch that Civil Service rule changes aren’t uncommon, especially with new chiefs.
“What we’re doing is making sure the new rules are fair to the officers in the police department,” Moore said.
The HR department and the city attorney have already approved the proposal, and now it’s the commission’s job to give it a final vetting.
“If it’s unfair, it will result in some kind of litigation,” Moore said. “… The main thing we look at is it going to cause an issue for the city in the long term.”
Moore said he didn’t think the rules would face any pushback from the commission unless something unforeseen comes up between now and the hearing date.
Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 33 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 33 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
Join the Discussion