CALERA, Ala. ( WBRC ) - As Calera is working toward passing its 2026 fiscal year budget, the police chief is pushing for a pay raise for his officers.

The Calera City Council held a budget meeting Tuesday night.

Calera Police Chief David Hyche told WBRC he’s asking for a 12% wage increase for his staff.

“It’s just not fair to ask people to do more work, double the work, for less pay,” he said.

With the city growing, the chief said there’s more demand on officers and they aren’t fully staffed, adding the pay isn’t as competitive as he’d like.

Fully staffed, the police department would have 39 full-time officers and four part-time officers. Right now, they’re in need of one part-time and four full-time officers.

Chief Hyche said if they’re able to increase the pay for these positions

See Full Page