DRUG AGENTS DESERVE A PAY RAISE

It's nothing short of criminal what Mississippi is paying agents who work
for the state Bureau of Narcotics. Consider: Agents are on call 24 hours a
day, seven days a week; they do some of the most dangerous work in
Mississippi - going undercover to fight illicit drugs.

Yet, incredibly, the starting salary for MBN agents is $23,976!

This is outrageous.

Moreover, it should be a considerable source of embarrassment for state
lawmakers, who ultimately determine the compensation levels for these brave,
hard-working - and grossly underpaid - men and women.

The 2003 Legislature needs to remedy this disconcerting situation.

State agents with the Bureau of Narcotics deserve a pay raise.

Lawmakers must make this issue a high priority in the next fiscal budget.

Rep. John Reeves, chairman of the House Committee on Fees and Salaries of
Public Officers, recognizes the glaring flaw in the system and has proposed
significant changes in the way the state compensates its drug agents.

Reeves' plan calls for entry-level salaries to rise from $23,976 to $29,970.
It also provides a 25 percent hazardous pay premium, plus any accrued
overtime.

"Illegal drugs are at the root of most of our crime; yet after taxes, some
agents qualify for food stamps," said Reeves. "They don't earn enough to
justify putting themselves at risk of getting killed by every fool and thug
selling drugs."

Raising salaries for MBN agents would also have a postive, practical effect
on the department: It would slow the high turnover rate.

Last year, 41 of the bureau's 178 agents resigned to take higher-paying jobs
in other law enforcement agencies.

Mississippi spends a lot of money each year training agents to fight the
spread of illicit drugs in our state, only to lose many of them to
better-paying jobs.

Raising salaries for drug agents is necessary because it's the right thing
to do. But it's also good business.

In fact, the state could probably recoup a major portion of the expenditure
for salary increases through the money it would save by training fewer
agents each year.

Clearly, boosting compensation for drug agents would be money well spent.