Hattiesburg police and fire full-time employees will have the opportunity to complete their undergraduate education at the University of Southern Mississippi with a pilot program beginning with police officers in the upcoming semester. Mayor Toby Barker said during Monday’s meeting at City Hall he hopes to expand the program to other departments.
“We see this as a pilot that will not only address the recruitment and retention issue with our officers and firemen, but also serve as a pilot to expand to other departments as well,” he said. “What this will do is in our next budget amendment and in our following budget for FY19, we will propose that we spend a certain amount and the city cover three hours of undergraduate classes at Southern Miss. In turn, Southern Miss will match three hours as well.”
However, Ward 2 Councilwoman Deborah Delgado said other city personnel are not being considered when these opportunities come along.
“My concern here is that other employees in the City of Hattiesburg do not get the same attention, nor are they given the same priority as police and fire,” she said. “They are different departments and they certainly contribute to making Hattiesburg the great place that it is. They work very hard for low wages.”
Delgado said the pay does not trickle down to those workers.
“We don’t pay our employees well,” she said. “It would seem to me that at some point when we have our creative juices flowing that we would make them a priority. A person who doesn’t have an undergraduate degree, for example, who works in sanitation or who works in Parks and Rec, once they get a degree or work toward a degree, when they reach their goal, they will be able to realize that increase in pay as well as a person who works in one of our first-responder departments.”
Delgado said the lower-wage employees are being consistently ignored.
“I just want you to know as we are having these conversations, I want you to consider the fact that we place other employees in the City of Hattiesburg on the backburner all the time,” she said.
Barker said the course completion will result in higher wages.
“As you know, on the pay scale our employees can make more if they get an undergraduate degree,” he said. “We see this as an opportunity, and obviously, it is subject to funds that we appropriate in the budget process. This doesn’t hit all employees; this does cover the two we’re shortest in, police and fire. Then I hope in a year or two, I hope we are talking about how we can expand this to other departments as well.”
Barker said William Carey College and Pearl River Community College are working with the city toward the same arrangement with Southern Miss.
“We picked the two departments that everyone knows that we are severely understaffed, especially in a growing city,” he said. “Finally, I think the reason that we started with these two is that we can plan for it fiscally right now. If you have two departments, you can project out what you can spend in a fiscal year as opposed to opening it up to 663 employees at one time.
“I hope we get to that point, but this is a significant step in some dire needs that we have. And it help us plan budget-wise on what our exposure is financially when we pay for this.”
“We’re challenged, for sure,” Delgado said, “but we are no less challenged when it comes to those other departments in the city. Yet those other departments in the city do not get the same attention. We pay poverty wages, mayor.”
“I realize that, and again increasing pay is a priority for both and the administration,” Barker said. “But I do appreciate the feedback.”
City Council President Carter Carroll said he was encouraged by the discussion.
“Every journey starts with that first step, and I think this is an excellent first step,” he said.
“We’ve been on that first step for a while,” Delgado said. “I’m not trying to be difficult, but it is a challenge for families who have their breadwinners working for us.”
After a question by Delgado to Barker during Tuesday’s City Council meeting at City Hall, the five members approved the agreement with USM unanimously.
