Ison
Greenwood’s police chief is asking the city council to allow patrol officers to be bought out of their leave time amid a staffing shortage.
Calling the situation an unorthodox one-time request, Police Chief Jim Ison asked the city council Monday night to amend the city’s paid time off, or PTO, policy to allow patrol officers to receive PTO pay in lieu of PTO leave for 2023. The change is needed because the department is experiencing a staffing shortage in its patrol division, making it difficult for patrol officers to use PTO leave time due to shift coverage demands.
“I find myself in a predicament toward the end of the year where we have struggled with manpower,” Ison said.
GPD is currently only four positions short, and has hired 18 new officers this year. However, the new officers are still in training, he said.
They’re also in the midst of their second hiring process of the year, although they are still struggling to have the same number of applicants they used to. For the physical agility test last Saturday, which is the first phase of the hiring process, 40 of 130 applicants showed up and 38 of the 40 passed, Ison said.
“We’re used to seeing 300 to 400 show up,” he said. “This is pretty consistent across the country and certainly across the region.”
Ison says the department is doing the best they can to try to get more recruits, and there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
In the meantime, he is requesting the PTO change.
Greenwood police has 10 officers per shift, with the requirement being a minimum of seven on duty at all times so that three officers a shift can have a day off, outside of regular days off. This includes sick days, PTO and training, which makes it hard for them to take the time off they want, Ison said.
The issue is exacerbated for more veteran officers who have accumulated more PTO, he said.
“They have a choice to make — either they lose their time or they call in and leave us short,” Ison said.
After a departmental discussion, Ison said he thought it was appropriate to use the funds leftover from the unfilled positions to give officers the opportunity to be bought out on their PTO. Officers are allowed to carry 80 hours of PTO over, so officials would allow them to sell up to 40 hours back, he said.
There are only eight officers interested in doing this, with the cost estimated to be around $8,000, Ison said.
City council members did not discuss the ordinance Monday, although council member Ron Bates asked to suspend the rules to push the ordinance through first reading. Both the suspension, and the vote for first reading, passed unanimously 9-0.
A final reading on the ordinance will take place on Oct. 16.
