Seneca Police Chief issues statement on Proposed Pay Raises

Seneca Police Chief John Covington has issued a press release regarding the proposed pay raises for his officers. Chief Covington wrote that there has been a lot of recent media attention about the proposed pay raises for officers at the police department. The budget request currently includes a $5,000 a year increase for all commissioned officers, which narrowly passed with a 5 to 4 vote on first reading by the Seneca City Council. Chief Covington says that there has been much discussion and debate on the issue, which is still being evaluated by city leaders. There will be a council work session, public hearing and final reading of the budget before anything becomes final. Chief Covington requested this increase for all commissioned officers of the police department to remain competitive with surrounding agency pay in order to attract and retain the best-qualified officers for the city. For clarification, Chief Covington says that currently Lt. Mark Tiller remains on paid administrative leave and a federal investigation is still ongoing. Any raise for active officers that may be approved in the new budget will not apply to Lt. Tiller until such a time he may be cleared at the federal level and fully reinstated to return to active duty.