Pay raise included in new Dayton police contracts

DAYTON, Ohio ( WDTN ) — A new pay scale is set to go into effect after a full year of contract talks between the city and two unions representing Dayton police officers.

Starting in 2026, the top pay for patrol officers will be $87,314. That’s up over $10,000 more than the current top pay, which is around $74,000.

Newly sworn-in recruits will start at $71,600 once they graduate from the Police Academy.

Dayton’s HR Director says the changes should make it easier to recruit and retain new officers.

“We wanted to put the money where we need it the most, it’s our younger less senior officers who tend to want to leave, so we want them to stay,” said Ken Couch, City of Dayton HR director. “We want to tell them they’re important to us, and we want to pay them accordingly.”

Dayton police officers will also get a 1% payment this year for completing their firearms certification. That goes up to 1.5% next year, and 2% the year after.

Couch says wages and healthcare were the main reasons why it took so long to finalize the contracts.

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