Joplin City Council approves raises for police, fire personnel

The Joplin City Council tonight approved a pay increase for police and fire personnel and charged the Finance Committee with coming up with the money to pay for it.

From KSN's coverage:

In total, this new raise will cost the city more than $300 thousand dollars, if and when they're able to fill the 15 open positions.



"This is a stretch for the city, this is something that we'll feel financially, and know that this is a beginning process, this isn't a finish line,” says Ryan Stanley.

Now comes the hard part, funding this raise. Council has charged the finance committee with finding revenue options to help pay for the increase. The committee will have 60 days to find those sources and present them to council while also finalizing the budget.