Bastrop council hears police chief on vacancies, retention and plans to widen recruitment

The Bastrop City Council on June 3 heard a detailed staffing update from the police chief, who said the department has six patrol vacancies and two recruits and described retention — not a lack of applicants — as the primary challenge.

Chief Tim told the council that some newly trained officers complete their two-year contract and then accept higher pay elsewhere, and that starting pay in nearby jurisdictions averages roughly $4–5 more per hour. He said the department currently has 15 full-time officers and one part-time officer, and that several candidates are at different stages of the hiring pipeline, including civil-service testing and medical clearance.

The chief described steps the department is taking: outreach to candidates on the eligibility list, participation in recruiting conferences, and discussions with the civil-service board about lowering the minimum hiring age to 18 to allow earlier recruitment and academy entry. He said the civil-service board must publicly post any change and that the administration would bring a resolution to the council after the board acts.

Council members pressed for more precise data — including original project dates for capital work and the department’s full-year staffing plan — and suggested merging the city’s crime statistics with the sheriff’s to present a complete picture when pursuing grants. One council member said combined data will strengthen grant applications designed to support nighttime patrols and other targeted strategies.

The discussion drew repeatedly to compensation and benefits as the main drivers of turnover. The chief said other agencies sometimes recruit officers before the end of their contracts and in some cases offer buyouts. He described the department’s two-year academy funding contract as standard for officers the city sends to the academy.

The council directed staff to include clearer, itemized budget requests for the police department in the upcoming budget hearings, and to provide an updated recruitment-and-retention plan at the special meeting scheduled for further budget discussion.