OVIEDO, Fla. – The Oviedo City Commission on Monday approved a significant pay raise for police officers as the city is moving forward with plans to expand police headquarters, aiming to address both recruitment challenges and facility needs.
Starting this fall, Oviedo police officers will receive an 11% pay increase, while sergeants and lieutenants will see a 7% raise. The starting salary for officers will rise to $63,500, bringing Oviedo in line with other agencies in Seminole County and the surrounding area starting Aug. 3, if approved.
“We noticed that we were pretty far out of line with what’s going on in Central County, particularly, there’s at least four other agencies that were significantly higher than us,” said Oviedo Police Chief Dale Coleman. “Starting pay is going up to $63,500, which is comparable to just about everybody in Seminole County and in the surrounding areas.”
Coleman said the pay increase is about more than just numbers.
“It also helps with attracting and recruiting applicants. You know, it makes us more attractive in the market. And that’s what we’re trying to do is attract the best and the brightest, to serve the people,” he said.
The chief added that the raise will help officers afford to live closer to where they work, addressing a major concern as housing costs continue to rise in Central Florida.
“I was talking with one of our officers who lives a pretty good distance away in another county. She made a comment to me. She goes, ‘There’s a good chance we can move into Seminole County. Maybe not Oviedo, but Seminole County with this pay raise and some other things that they can do, because it’s a big enough boost to where it makes a difference,’” Coleman said.
Coleman also noted that the pay raise will help attract people making a second career change, not just new recruits.
“This is also where the salaries help because they’re not taking such a pay cut to come, because if you’re working in your 40s, you’re probably making more. So these are the things that happen,” he said.
The department currently has 74 positions and hopes to add more officers and detectives in the coming years. Recruitment and retention have been ongoing challenges, a trend seen nationwide in law enforcement.
In addition to the pay raise, the city is planning a two-story annex expansion to the current police headquarters. The project, expected to take about two years, comes after previous efforts to build a new facility were rejected by voters due to concerns over tax increases.
“We’ve done some renovations. There was a new roof on the building, and we’ve done some things internally,” Coleman said. “We also are moving forward to putting an addition, an annex on to the building somewhere in the 10,000 to 15,000 square-foot addition.”
Coleman expressed gratitude to city leaders and residents for supporting the pay increase and facility improvements.
“I know it’s a burden that we bear as citizens, but it’s also, I think, the right thing to do, to pay officers what they, you know, comparable wages and, and to, deliver the service so that they, they should deliver,” he said.
The city hopes these changes will boost morale, improve recruitment, and ensure Oviedo continues to deliver high-quality police services to the community.