At Joplin’s final city council meeting for 2021, Mayor Ryan Stanley addressed possible pay increases to fire and police personnel. KRPS’s Fred Fletcher-Fierro has more.

At the tail end of a nearly two-hour meeting Monday night, Joplin Mayor Ryan Stanley addressed how he and Mayor Pro-Tem Kenan Cortez along with representatives from the city’s police and fire departments are working to keep the city’s pay competitive.

While at the same time Stanley also reminded residents and those at the meetings that the Joplin has worked to raise police and fire salaries in recent years. “In 2018, we made a special pay increase just to police and just to fire. I think it was a 3% move, or a 5% move I can’t remember. Fast forward to fall of 2020, and I know that we did a 9% across the board increase.” Stanley went on to say that he’s in favor of pay increases for fire and police personnel, but that it should be done in a way that is predictable and equitable for Joplin city government to pay for. For 89 9 KRPS, I’m Fred Fletcher-Fierro