By Ray King
All eight members of the Pine Bluff City Council are cosponsoring a proposed ordinance permitting police officers with prior experience to transfer to the Pine Bluff Police Department and receive extra compensation.
The [proposed ordinance will be discussed when the council meets Monday at 5:30 -p.m. at the Pine Bluff Convention Center.
The proposal will allow officers who left Pine Bluff for other departments and want to come back to receive additional compensation for their experience. Currently, officers who leave for other departments must start over if they want to return.
Current Chief Denise Richardson, in a previous interview, talked about bringing former officers back because of the experience they can provide to the department.
Under the ordinance, to be eligible for th3e program, applicants must be certified law enforcement officers and meet all standards for police applicants. They must also successfully complete the physical requirements and an interview but will not be required to take a written test.
Newly hired offices with at least one year of certified experience will be paid from $40,590 to $43,848 while certified officers with 10 or more years of experience will be paid between $47,439 and $49,185. Newly hired officers under the program will also receive a $1,200 clothing and equipment allowance.
A special provision of the proposed ordinance also provides that a Pine Bluff Police officer who resigned after July 1, 2020 and has remained continuously employed as a law enforcement officer in good standing with no pending disciplinary action when he or she left or with his or her current employer is eligible to be reinstated with the Pine Bluff Police Department with the same rank and service time as when they reigned plus credit for service time with th4e law enforcement agency the officer has been employed with in the interim.
