NORFOLK, Va. — A budget proposal aims to make Norfolk safer.
City Manager Chip Filer unveiled the FY 2024 budget plan on Tuesday. He wants to raise wages for public safety employees to combat staffing shortages.
Under the proposal, Filer said hundreds of police officers, sheriff's deputies, and firefighters would get a 7.5% pay raise. The budget would also add 911 dispatchers to the public safety pay plan.
Filer also wants the city council to create a new public safety aid position.
He described it as "a community-focused position that will enhance police recruitment by offering employment to candidates as young as 18 to enter the police academy and become sworn officers when eligible."
The budget proposal also includes creating a new anti-violence street safety program.
The Norfolk City Council discussed the plan during its meeting on Tuesday night, but the final vote to approve the budget isn't until May.