Spartanburg’s Police Chief Alonzo Thompson approached the city’s elected leaders in February and requested better pay for his officers a raise that hadn’t occurred since 2016.
Heads nodded in support behind the dais. It seemed for sure it would happen in the coming weeks to help a department that is currently ten officers short and has struggled with retention and recruitment as neighboring agencies pay better.
But then, the COVID-19 pandemic crept in and cast a dark cloud of financial uncertainty over residents, businesses and even government bodies.
When the city council inked a more conservative budget in July, police raises weren’t a part of it as the city braced for the pandemic’s impacts.