Police department likely to promote from within

Three Petersburg Police Department officers have applied for the vacant police sergeant position, but there hasn't been any outside interest, said Police Chief Jim Kerr at an assembly meeting last week.

Kerr said the reason there hasn't been any applicants for the position outside Petersburg comes down to the hourly pay the department can pay a sergeant. According to Kerr, the starting hourly pay for a sergeant is $27.36. After a year on the job, their pay increases to $30.74 an hour. The Cordova Police Department just raised their standard police officer starting rate to anywhere from $30 to...