Updated Wednesday, Oct. 20 at 5:45 p.m.:
After months of speaking out separately, the local police and firefighter unions released a joint statement raising concerns about pay, retention and safety in Alexandria.
And in response, the City of Alexandria will be taking another look at pay rates for those professionals.
"In response to competitive pressures and in recognition of the dedicated work of Alexandria’s public servants, Council will be considering a package of rare mid-year pay adjustments, including an across-the-board salary increase, bonuses and targeted increases for public safety," Mayor Justin Wilson announced just days after the police and firefighter unions released their joint statement. The pay increases will be considered at an upcoming city council meeting.
The pay increases could include a 1.5% pay rate increase for all City of Alexandria employees, grade increases for certain Alexandria Police Department and Sheriff's Department members, one-time bonuses and an indication that compensation for city employees will be a priority in the next budget cycle.
The Alexandria Committee of Police IUPA Local 5 and Alexandria International Association of Firefighters Local 2141 represent more than 500 firefighters, police and medics in the City of Alexandria.
In the statement released Sunday evening, Marcus Downey, Vice President of theAlexandria Committee of Police, IUPA Local 5, said, "Alexandria’s starting salary ranks 19th out of the 20 Northern Virginia jurisdictions, and we’re seeing how that impacts recruitment and retention. Through the first 9 months of the year, we have already lost 30 officers who have left for better paying jobs, but we’ve only been able to hire 11replacements. In a City where the crime rate has increased 15% since 2019, it is a safety risk for the community, and for our officers, when we can only replace 1 out of every 3 officers we lose.”
The IAFF Local 2141 states similar issues within the Fire Department.
The starting salary for a City of Alexandria police officer position is $50,839, though some may be eligible to make more. (Many are making more, but it is due to putting in significantly amounts of overtime to help with staffing needs.) By comparison, Fairfax County starting police officers start at about $54,969. Arlington County starting police officers can make $56,035.
Despite police officers in other jurisdictions making slightly more, the Arlington County police and firefighters unions, for example, are also sounding the alarm on departures due to low pay. However, Arlington County officials say that turnover there is trending downward.
Firefighter salaries start at $49,294 in Alexandria and can graduate to $57,057 after 6 months with additional training.
“Five years ago, before I joined the Alexandria Fire Department, I worked at the Walmart warehouse,” said Matt DeBenedetto, an Alexandria firefighter. “I got paid more back then working there than I do working for the Fire Department now. How can we recruit and retain people willing to run into burning buildings if safer retail jobs pay significantly more?”
Firefighters and medics also seem to earn less than their peers in their neighboring jurisdictions, according to the union, but it's a bit harder to put them in a ranked list. This is because firefighters in Alexandria work 56 hours a week, while many firefighters in neighboring jurisdictions work 42- or 48-hour weeks. On a per-hour basis, however, it appears that Alexandria firefighters are making about less per hour than peers in other areas while working more hours, according to the union.
Both unions state that retention and recruitment issues can be solved by allocating more funding to their departments, first by using leftover funds from this year's budget, and emergency relief funds from the federal government in the short term, and then making competitive pay a priority in next year’s budget.
This year, for the first time, the Commonwealth of Virginia is allowing public sector employees to participate in collective bargaining. Alexandria was the first jurisdiction in Virginia to start the process.
