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Editorial

Each day, people go out on the roads heading to go to work, run errands, pick their child up from school or head home for rest in relaxation. Those are just a grain of what goes on in daily life.

Throughout each day, most people go about life just looking into what they are doing within the next hour, trying to have some sort of plan as to how they will proceed with their routine. That is until an incident occurs and others need to be involved—people like our first responders.

During a Calera City Council meeting on Monday, Sept. 15, the council officially approved the city’s budget for the 2026 fiscal year, which included a large pay increase of 12 percent for the Calera Police Department.

The city’s police department is one that has lost 41 employees in the last five years, most of whom cited pay as their reason for the exit.

It begs you to wonder if our first responders get paid enough.

When you look at the above fact, you can probably quickly conclude that, in some cities, they certainly are not, and that causes a loss of experienced employees, leaving more stress and more room for error as young hires come in.

Now, it is evident that some cities in that situation, much like Calera was, noticed. It showed city officials cared and made the correct decision in order to keep their citizens in a safe and trustworthy environment, helping to retain employees and keep experience on its side.

Keeping Shelby County safe is a value most residents in the county have high on their list, and being able to compete from a pay scale to have the best guys within county lines will positively increase the impact our officers have.

This is a call to action for city officials. Keep our officers within county lines and make our cities the safest they have been. It is a decision you will look back on with no regret.