Local police organization blasts city's spending on SEMO athletic/academic facilities

A local organization made up of Cape Girardeau police officers has publicly objected to the city’s pledge of up to $10.2 million for athletic and academic facilities on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University, claiming a better use of those funds would be to bolster police salaries.

A social media post from Missouri Fraternal Order of Police-Lodge 51, the Cape Girardeau chapter of the organization, condemns the decision, made at the council’s June 5 meeting, to devote a portion of the city’s future casino revenue to redeveloping the university’s football/soccer stadium into a dual-role, multipurpose athletic and academic facility. The city’s pledge is for up to $600,000 annually for 17 years. SEMO president Carlos Vargas noted the city’s commitment would enhance the university’s chances of receiving grant funds from other entities, including the state government.

The police organization blasted the decision, contending department personnel were losing out.

“At this same meeting, the leadership of Cape Girardeau voted unanimously to raise the pay for the officers of the Cape Girardeau Police Department an insulting 3%, officially refusing the budgetary request of Cape Girardeau Police chief Wes Blair, which asked for a minimum pay increase of 9% for all officers and step increases for specialty positions within the department, such as K9 handler, SWAT operator and evidence technician. The total increased budgetary cost for this meager pay increase would have only been approximately $580,000 a year,” the group’s post states.

The post notes staffing shortages and lower pay in the department relative to other law enforcement agencies in the region, while contending the department is responsible for a significantly larger and more violent caseload than other area agencies.

City manager Kenneth Haskin contended the city has enhanced pay for all municipal employees.

“The City of Cape Girardeau is committed to competitive pay for police officers, and all of our public servants. We have made historic investments in our workforce recently,” he said in an emailed statement. “Public safety and public workers are our top priorities which you can see in our budget. Police, like other city workers, are mostly paid from the City’s General Fund and fund revenue is nearly flat, increasing less than a percent this year. An annual 9% salary increase is just not possible.”

Haskin contended the city has specifically raised police pay in the past two years.

“We’ve increased starting pay for police officers 15% since 2021, and added other compensation, equipment and positions to public safety totaling almost $4 million in addition to their existing budgets. We value our police, and it shows in our budget,” he wrote.

Haskin contended the city’s casino revenue — a portion of Century Casino Cape Girardeau’s gaming tax and a $1 per-person-admitted fee — cannot be spent on recurring expenses.

“Any attempt to use casino funds for recurring expenses like salaries, would be irresponsible and considered reckless by municipal advisors,” he wrote. “Competitive pay has to be sustainable. Salaries and benefits are annual and long-term commitments, thus we do not tie our workers’ futures to a single, volatile funding source like casino revenue. We use casino revenue for one-time projects, sometimes paid over a few, but finite, number of years.”

The city manager added all municipal services and employees provide value to residents and visitors.

“To fund the FOP’s demands would require eliminating programs and cutting jobs across all departments including street, sanitation, development, recreation, and the airport. We need our maintenance teams. We need development to improve streets, and provide for safe and impactful community growth,” he said. “Facilities like our Sportsplex are the primary driver of tourism that supports our local restaurants, hotels and other businesses. We recognize the inherent complexity and risk involved in policing, but all of our public servants add value to the community.”