HARRISBURG, Pa. -- "When you go out and get new officers each year, and then, they go to those troubled areas - those kids, those youth, those troubled youths - they don't know that officer," said Igor Sherment, who works in Harrisburg.
A retention problem in the Harrisburg Police Department has police and city officials taking steps to keep cops from leaving.
Harrisburg has seen a high officer turnover rate in recent years, especially among younger cops. Police and the mayor's office want a new contract to keep those officers in the city.
According to Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse, it's all about the money - why officers stay and why they go. The new four year contract was designed with that in mind and provides more incentives for young officers to stay with the police force.
"Young officers will come, they'll sign up, they'll get the training here in Harrisburg, and then, they'll leave," explained Mayor Papenfuse.
According Mayor Papenfuse, this creates instability within the police department. The new contract focuses on what the mayor believes will keep officers around: money.
"Under the old contract, it took basically five years for a new hire to become, sort of, a fully vested police officer with the full salary," he said.
Now, he says it will take four years, and officers will go from about $46,000 a year to nearly $63,000. Plus, officers will receive a 1 percent raise per year, a half percent every six months, with no impact on taxpayers from careful budgeting.
"We are also offering bonuses for the first three years of this four year contract," added Mayor Papenfuse.
Three yearly bonuses of $1,500 for all officers, from leftover 2016 funds not used for hiring and from cops who retired. The mayor says officers will also have their birthdays off. Finally, to ensure young officers don't hop off after they train, there's a penalty.
"A claw back provision which says that if you come here, and you get your training, but then you leave Harrisburg, and you go to another municipality, well then you're going to have to pay back your training costs," explained Papenfuse.
Officers could potentially have to pay up to $5,000 dollars in training costs if they leave within five years, a $1,000 per year penalty.
It's a contract one neighbor agrees with.
"I feel like it's good for keeping the officers here as opposed to going out elsewhere," said Stephen Goodman of Harrisburg.
Another man who works in the city has some doubts.
"It is a good idea for them to give the officers an incentive each year to stay, but can the city really afford that? I'm not sure," questioned Sherment.
Mayor Papenfuse says the contract is a small step in the right direction and hopes to be able to compete with other police departments in coming years.
"It's just a matter of doing that responsibly in a way that we can pay for it," he said.
The mayor says the city can hire up to 18 officers this year. The contract still has to be voted on by city council which should happen sometime later this month according to Mayor Papenfuse.