Jacksonville police & corrections officers set for huge pay bump after new deal with city

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Huge pay bumps in store for the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office police and corrections officers after officially signing a new collective bargaining agreement with the City of Jacksonville on Tue., June 25.

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The hope, ultimately is that these pay increases will address a large understaffing issue throughout the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, with Sheriff T.K. Waters saying at Tuesday’s signing the department is over 100 officers short of where they need to be.

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“I’ve had phone calls from leaders from other agencies already, and they’re recognizing the difficulty that’s going to come their way,” Sheriff Waters said, alluding to JSO’s now increased recruitment abilities. “Because, listen, I think Jacksonville is a premier city in Florida.”

The new collective bargaining agreement also includes a return to the Florida retirement system pension plan in 2027 for new police officers, the option to opt in for current ones, as well as a return to the pension plan for corrections officers, pending what the city cites as “Certain legal obstacles.”

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“Our biggest issue has been corrections,” Sheriff Waters said. “Corrections has had a really really rough time and this agreement takes huge steps in getting us where we need to be in continuing to help build our corrections department.”

Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan said the new deal serves as a public safety investment in a city that’s booming in population.

“Jacksonville is one of the fastest growing cities in the country,” Mayor Deegan said. “We’ve got to make sure that we’re keeping up with that in public safety. If we’re not able to keep our people safe, we’re not succeeding.”

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