The City of North Adams is having a hard time attracting and retaining police officers.
Mayor Richard Alcombright says an officer’s starting salary is $38,000.
“I think we have the lowest pay scale for police officers probably in the commonwealth – of any city for sure,” Alcombright says.
North Adams, the smallest city in Massachusetts, budgets for 23 officers, but can’t fill many positions.
“You know when I was a kid everyone wanted to grow up to be a policeman, a fireman or a cowboy. And I say that a little bit tongue in cheek but that’s kind of true. I don’t know today that with what we are seeing on a national level – shootings and different things with police – and that’s not really what young people want to do that at the same level.”
Alcombright says that means police have to work even harder. Police overtime is down from $305,000 last year to $242,000.
