Willow Park police ask city for more money to fix staff retention problem
The Willow Park Police Department is struggling to retain staff, but the city is not yet sure where the money will come from to give the department competitive pay.
Quincy Hamilton, who was appointed interim police chief May 12, told the Star-Telegram that the police department is struggling to retain staff for often longer than a year — a problem Hamilton attributes to the department’s pay rate compared to other cities of similar size.
The department currently has 14 employees, according to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement. Pay at the Willow Park Police Department starts out in the “low 60”-thousand range, according to Hamilton. Hamilton said the department is down two sergeants and 10 officers, but two newly-hired officers will start May 18.
“We’re constantly recruiting because everyone is short,” Hamilton said. “But a lot of other places pay more than us. After about a year or two, they’re gone.”
The police department requires about $2.6 million in funding, according to the approved 2025-2026 budget. The majority of that cost comes from personnel. Salaries cost the department a little over $1.3 million, according to the budget. Mayor Teresa Palmer said in June 2025 she requested the former police chief, Ray Lacy, to speak with the city administrator regarding a potential $10,000 raise for officers.
“And we’re sitting here a year later, and no one did it,” Palmer said.
Hamilton said the department is “stretched thin.” At the moment, the day shift and night shifts are covered by one officer reporting to one sergeant. The ideal situation, Hamilton said, would be to have at least two officers on each shift. Hamilton said the department often gets calls related to traffic enforcement in neighborhoods in Willow Park, but often cannot regularly patrol neighborhoods because staff is pulled away to deal with highway patrol. Population growth is expected to continue in Willow Park, with large-scale housing developments planned and the UTA West Campus also in the works.
Hamilton said he expects the police department needs to “at least double in the next five years.”
Police salary study needs revisions, council says
Hamilton was appointed interim chief after the city dismissed Lacy at the end of April for “lack of confidence” in his leadership. Lacy was in his role for less than a year. Lacy was the one who created a salary study of the police department at the request of Mayor Teresa Palmer, according to Hamilton.
Hamilton presented that study to council May 12, but both parties agreed there were some discrepancies in the study that needed to be fixed. Hamilton, at the direction of council, plans to conduct another salary study and present it at the upcoming city council meeting in June.
Council members said they were in agreement with Hamilton, but they would need to hone in on where the funding could come from during the upcoming city budget process. Council member Eric Contreras added that residents pay a little under $2 million each fiscal year in property taxes, which is less than the current police department budget. Contreras said with that in mind, development is “critical” to generating sales tax to help boost police pay.
“Let’s revise the study,” said Council member Scott Smith. “None of us don’t want the officers to get more money. It’s where we find that money.”
