In a battle to keep police officers and firefighters from crossing the bridge for better paying jobs, West Memphis city leaders have approved pay raises for first responders.
Council members went back and forth over the proposed raises despite all of them saying they support the measure.
West Memphis council members got a standing ovation after voting to give police and firefighters a raise.
Fire Captains and down will be the ones getting a raise taking them from $44,990 up to $51,008. “One of the problems we were having wasn’t so much with hiring it was retention, we lost a few firefighters to Memphis and we lost some to Mississippi so this raise really brings us in a more compatible salary and be in line with what they are paying right across the bridge,” said West Memphis Fire Chief Barry Ealy.