With IOP City Council elections finished, one item that all members will be addressing in early January is employee retention – mainly concerning the island’s police and fire departments. And before winter ends, both departments are anticipating new incentives to keep qualified personnel and hopefuls for the long haul.
“Since 2020, we’ve lost 20 police officers,” said IOP Police Sgt. Matt Storen. “And we only have 22 full-time officers on board at one time.”
Through November 2025, the fire department has had a turnover rate of 30% – the highest so far since pre- COVID and double the rate of 2024 – and higher than 2019, 2020 and 2021 combined. Pay is a principal reason for turnover in both departments.
The starting salary for a new IOP officer candidate with no previous law enforcement experience is currently $45,796 a year. Firefighters’ pay begins at $49,000.
In the last three years, the city has made several pay adjustments to public safety employees, including a $5,000 one-time payment in 2022 (applied to all employees); a 2.4% cost of living increase; and a 14% salary increase.
Storen pointed out that officers left because of better opportunities at larger agencies, or after deciding to quit law enforcement altogether. “There is no one reason why people leave. But every time we lose an officer, it makes it that much harder for all of us as a unit to do our job.”
For example, understaffing often means mandatory overtime, extra shift coverage, multiple assignments and relying more on other agencies for support and backup.
“You also have to consider officer uniforms and equipment, in-house training, field training at the S.C. Criminal Justice Academy, mentors to younger officers, institutional knowledge and the fact that they know the residents and business owners and have a personal connection to the people we serve,” Storen said. “All that gets lost we lose officers of top caliber.”
Both City Administrator Douglas Kerr and IOPFD Fire Chief Craig Oliverius added that the loss of key personnel goes far beyond just pay and benefits.
“The time and effort it takes for any department to get a new employee to a point of being highly effective and making important contributions will not be captured in the financial cost of training,” Kerr said. “We lose expertise and institutional knowledge, which is very valuable.”
To help retain more police and firefighters, the city council approved this past September a wage and compensation study through Evergreen Solutions — a public sector consulting firm in Tallahassee, Flordia. — to help keep both departments competitive in an increasingly limited market for qualified public safety professionals.
“The results will be presented to council in January,” Oliverius said. “We’re hopeful that the recommendations will strengthen our ability to retain experienced leaders and attract talented fire and rescue professionals who can grow into future department leaders.”
The issue is already a priority for both veteran and newly elected council members to complete as soon as possible after the new year.
“I’m committed to making sure we have first responder pay that is competitive with surrounding areas,” said Councilman John Bogosian, head of the Public Safety Committee. “And I’m looking forward to the results of the Evergreen study.”
By L. C. Leach III
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