Richmond police officers and firefighters called on city leaders Monday night to increase their wages and reform the pay scale system for local public safety employees.
In the first public hearing on the cityâs proposed budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1, about two dozen people said relatively low pay and stress over the last year has led to significant turnover and decline in morale.
âWe are not entering a crisis. We are in [a crisis],â said Brendan Leavy, a Richmond police detective and president of the Richmond Coalition of Police. âOur veteran officers are leaving our department in droves. Weâve had over 70 officers leave in the last 10 months. This is not normal.â