Winamac discusses police chief pay

Winamac Police Chief Branson Eber met in a special session with the Winamac Board of Metropolitan Police Commissioners on Sept. 15 to discuss raising his salary. Chief Eber said that he has conducted some research – looking at the hours he has worked and comparing his salary to other chiefs in similar sized communities – and he has found that he is "severely" underpaid. He said that the average salary in those similar areas is approximately $86,903. Eber added that as a department head, he is not entitled to overtime, he does not currently get specialty pay, he is not entitled to sell time back and he works the road quite a bit. He also put some numbers together for the board to get some context as to where everything stands. For example, Eber gave examples of what the numbers would look like for salaries if there were 50 cent and 75 cent raises for the other officers this next year. Vice President Alvin Parish asked if the patrolmen get paid for their certifications or "specialties" on the approved list. Chief Eber answered affirmatively, stating that the officers get a 25 cent increase per certification. He added that he does not currently get paid for his certifications, though. Vice President Alvin Parish said that he feels like everyone should get 25 cents extra per certification, including Eber.