BENNETTSVILLE— Bennettsville City Council members heard urgent appeals Tuesday from BPD Chief Sammy Crosland and BFD Chief Chris Burks regarding increasing department salary needs and discussed a short-term $2,000 retention incentive. Council acknowledged that, even if approved, longer-term salary increases are still needed to keep public safety workers from leaving for higher-paying agencies nearby.
Both Crosland and Burks outlined the issue of salary as a workforce problem and a public safety concern.
BPD Chief Crosland: “Officers are leaving for financial security”
Crosland told council he was not asking for help for himself, but for the officers serving Bennettsville every day.
“I’m not standing here asking for something for myself. I’m standing here making an earnest plea for the young men and women who work at the Bennettsville Police Department,” he said.
Crosland said officers continue to serve because they care about the city, but nearby agencies are offering salaries that are becoming too enticing to ignore.
He explained, “Caring about this community does not eliminate the responsibility for their families. They see nearby agencies offering salaries that exceed what they offer here at the city of Bennettsville.”
The chief said the loss of an officer is more than a staffing vacancy. “When we lose an officer, we just don’t lose an employee,” Crosland said, adding “We lose experience, we lose training, we lose instructional knowledge.”
He asked council to invest in public safety employees, saying, “When we support our officers, we are simply not increasing a paycheck. We’re investing in quality service.”
BFD Chief Burks warns of department turnovers caused by pay gaps
Burks began by thanking council for considering compensation increases but stressed his department is facing the long-term challenge of retention.
“My purpose tonight is to simply share with you what I am seeing as the fire chief and why I believe we need to continue looking at firefighter compensation as a long-term issue,” he said.
Since 2019, according to Burks, the city’s fire department has lost eight full-time employees. He says this represents more than 120 years of combined fire service experience just walking out the door.
“For a department our size, that amount of turnover is significant,” Burks said. “We can fill a vacant position, but we cannot replace the 15 to 20 years of experience overnight.”
Burks points out that a Bennettsville firefighter’s starting salary is $34,715.20, while nearby municipalities and counties offer higher starting pay.
He cited other nearby agencies reported salaries as being:
• Darlington: $37,000
• Clarksville: $41,000
• Georgetown: $41,000
• Marion: $42,000
• Lancaster: $47,000
“I’m not suggesting that Bennettsville has to match every salary I’ve mentioned,” he said. “I’m sharing these numbers because this is the employment market in which we are trying to recruit and retain firefighters,” he explained.
Burks cautioned that one-time bonuses could help in the short run, but emphasized base pay remains the larger concern.
“A one-time benefit provides immediate assistance and recognition,” he said, adding, “An improvement to base salary helps address the long-term issue of recruitment and retention.”
Council weighs $2,000 proposed retention incentive
Following the words of Chiefs’ Crosland and Burks, council agreed to a proposed plan to offer a $2,000 retention incentive to both Bennettsville police and fire department personnel.
Regarding taking a vote on the matter, Bennettsville City Administrator William Simon Jr. advised no action, or formal vote is required from council because the initiative is defined as a budget transfer rather than a formal amendment to the city’s budget.
Simon explained, “It is a simple budget transfer. So, you’re not amending the budget. We’ve gotten with the Finance Director [Samuel Sparkman]. We’re prepared to move forward with that.”
He advised council bonuses could start moving into personnel bank accounts September 1.
Simon said the plan relies on using funds from one vacant position combined with contingency funding to provide a flat $2,000 incentive to public safety personnel.
When Councilman Cy’Heim McRae questioned where specifically funding would be coming from, Simon answered, “Chief Crosland talked about giving up one position.” He continued, “I think the only difference we have now would be about $18,000 that we need to transfer either from contingency or we don’t want to touch miscellaneous contracts, but we have contingency funds. So, we can transfer that over, use that one position and come first of September, we can cut these incentive bonuses to police and fire.”
Simon clarified the $2,000 incentive would be a flat fee and not a percentage amount.
Councilman McRae cautioned that after speaking with members from both departments, he does not feel a $2,000 stop-gap measure attempt by the city is going to solve its retention problem.
He said, “We’ll see who is satisfied and stays, and we’ll see who is not satisfied and leaves.”
Councilman William “Bill” Jennings Jr. echoed the words of many council members when he told Crosland and Burks the council is committed to addressing their plight, now, and into the future.
He said, “There is a firm commitment from the last executive session, not to get into what we talked about, to go forward in next year’s budget, which it’ll be here before we know it.”
Jennings hinted that budget talks are anticipated to begin in January 2027, or possibly even sooner, this upcoming December.