Orlando police officers set to get two pay raises this year (2024)

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According to city documents, starting pay for Orlando police officers will rise from just under $55,000 a year, where it is today, to $62,129 effective July 7, 2024, representing a roughly 13 percent increase.

This sizable boost, approved by Orlando City Council last Monday, is largely made possible through a decision by the city and the union to get rid of the officers’ lowest pay structure tier, known as Grade 1, and advance everyone on that bottom rung up to the second tier.

Under their union contract, police officers are paid based on a salary structure that takes into account the number of years they have worked for the department and performance evaluations.

Under the new agreement, police officers on all other salary tier levels will similarly get a 6 percent salary increase, effective July 7, with salaries ranging from the new base of $62,129 to $97,420 annually, plus benefits.

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But there's more.

Under the terms of their current three-year union contract, approved in 2022, all three job classifications will see an additional 4 percent pay raise this fall, on Oct. 1, which will boost starting pay for Orlando police officers even higher — to a minimum $64,656 for starting officers.

Altogether that's thousands of dollars in extra pay coming to Orlando Police Department officers, sergeants and lieutenants, annually.

Fiscal impact statements indicate a cost of $1.4 million in public money this fiscal year, and an estimated annualized cost of $5.76 million thereafter. City documents state this pay boost will be funded through a city budget amendment using "excess" sales tax revenues.

The new agreement was placed on the Orlando City Council's consent agenda last week, and was approved by city commissioners with no discussion.

City spokesperson Ashley Papagni, over email, explained to Orlando Weekly that these changes were enacted “in order to remain competitive with comparable jurisdictionsfor top quality law enforcement officers.”

Orlando Weekly also asked if other city employees will similarly see raises next month, including city employees who are nonunion or those who are represented by another union, such as the SEIU Florida Public Sector Union (SEIU-FPSU), the Laborer’s International Union of North America (LIUNA), or the Orlando Professional Firefighters union (IAFF Local 1365).

Altogether, these labor unions represent a wide range of city employees, from code enforcement to wastewater specialists, firefighters, traffic safety control specialists and city planners.

According to Papagni, the city is scheduled to negotiate with the firefighters union, IAFF, regarding changes to their own contract that could impact members' pay, but she gave no clarification on the others.

The Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #25, which represents OPD officers, did not respond to our emailed request for comment on their members' raises ahead of publication.

The Orlando Police Department is currently on a mission to recruit more than 100 new officers, after getting a thumbs-up from city officials to hire more officers last year.

To further sweeten the deal, new recruits are eligible for a $8,000 sign-on bonus, according to OPD — with $3,000 of that fronted by the local police department, and $5,000 available through state money for new or out-of-state officers.

Some of these recruitment efforts, including the sign-on bonuses from OPD, are supported by state efforts. Under the cop-friendly Gov. DeSantis’s administration, the state has ramped up efforts to recruit new law enforcement officers by, in part, trying to lure officers to Florida from other states.

The new state budget, effective July 1, dedicates $17 million for the state’s third year of its Law Enforcement Recruitment Bonus Program, which initially launched in 2022.

According to a news release shared in April by the Governor's Office, over 1,200 of the new recruits came from out of state, including 400 from what the office deems “anti-police jurisdictions,” such as California, Illinois and New York (where, let’s be frank, former police officer and NYC Mayor Eric Adams loves his cops).

“Florida’s investments in law enforcement recruitment are investments in the safety of our communities,” DeSantis shared in a prepared statement. “Florida is a law-and-order state, and we will continue to pursue policies that attract the best law enforcement officers in the nation to serve and protect Floridians.”

As Orlando Weekly readers know, the Orlando Police Department recently came under fire for aggressively shutting down a pro-Palestine protest in downtown Orlando last month after one protester began using a bullhorn without a permit.

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