The City of Savannah invested in a public safety wage increase over the weekend.
That includes increase in pay, retention bonuses and more.
The pay increase puts the starting salary for police officers at $50,000.
The starting salary for firefighters is at $48,000, up from the previous starting salary $44,000.
The city nearly spent nearly $4.3 million in additional investments for public safety. According to the city, that puts Savannah’s public safety departments in the top 5% in Georgia.
Other ranks at the Savannah Police Department such as officer, corporal, sergeant, and lieutenant also saw a pay raise. For the Savannah Fire Department, the new investments include adjustments to the starting salaries of all advanced firefighters, fire engineers, fire investigators and fire prevention inspectors.