New Martinsville Police Department Detective Donnie Harris stands alongside NMPD Chief Tim Cecil, recipient of the Life Saving Award.

At the New Martinsville City Council’s Finance Committee meeting on Monday, December 4, city council members and Mayor Steve Bohrer informed Police Chief Tim Cecil they are considering giving a pay increase to the three elected Department Heads. The increase would be for Chief Cecil, City Recorder Bonnie Shannon and Street Commissioner Gary Wiley.

The Finance Committee meeting was held prior to council’s regularly scheduled meeting.

Cecil, who approached council at the November meeting with a request for a salary increase, said he is currently making $45,000 per year and has had only one pay increase in his 15 years with the department. Wiley and Shannon had not requested increases, but according to city officials, since they all three are elected at the same base salary, all three would have to receive the raise.

Council said they would be in favor of increasing the salary to $55,000; however, they need to find a way to pay for the increase. Also discussed was a possible increase in the B&O tax, or the recently proposed City Service fee.

A special meeting has been set for Monday, Dec. 11 to discuss salaries and possible tax increases. The meeting is open to the public and will be held at city hall beginning at 5 p.m.

Pictured is Chief Cecil's Life Saving award.

Following the meeting, Chief Cecil said he was elected to the position for the first time 15 years ago. At that time the salary was $28,000. Since then, Chief Cecil has received one increase to bring him closer in line with other city employees. However he feels he still lags behind.

“I do not receive any overtime pay because I am a salaried employee. However I am a 24/7 guy. I go out when I am needed, whether it is day or night. Since I have been Chief, we have seen a huge increase in drug traffic. There is hardly a day goes by that I don’t have to make an arrest or investigate a drug crime or some other crime. We have stepped up patrols and all of my officers are working very hard to keep this a safe place to live,” Chief Cecil commented.

“We also work with the community and the kids. We have the Shop with the Cop program and we spend time in the schools just getting to know the kids and to make our presence felt. All I want is to be fairly compensated for my time and effort and to be able to provide a decent living for my family.”

At Monday night’s council meeting, Chief Cecil was also given the Life Saving Award. This award stemmed from a situation on May 30, 2017, involving a young overdose victim.

Chief Cecil was able to expedite the emergency response. He was able to help the victim regain consciousness and delivered her to an ambulance, which then transported her to Wetzel County Hospital.

The award states that Cecil showed “outstanding performance and heroic actions.”