Mayor Scott Conger was the Jackson Rotary Club’s guest speaker April 3, delivering the postponement of his State of the City address in January.

Updates on police officer recruitment efforts, achievements made by the fire departments, and statistics on community outreach programs and developments characterized his address.

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Jackson Police Department needs new complex

Working closely with JPD’s Domestic Violence Units, the Safe Hope Center, a local organization helping victims of domestic and sexual violence, served 1,173 people in 2023.

Touting that Jackson has “the best police department in the state,” Conger reiterated Police Chief Thom Corley’s renewed, three-fold philosophy in law enforcement: constitutional, collaborative, and community policing.

Intended for use by both the Jackson fire and police departments, the need for a new and improved public safety complex persists. The city has established a contract with an architecture and engineering firm to address how the more than 70-year-old buildings will be replaced.

“The current state of our police department and fire administration building is not ideal, to say the least,” Conger said.

“We owe it to those officers and those fire department officials who put their lives on the line every day to come to work, to give them a decent place to do their jobs.”

Out of 220 budgeted positions, JPD currently employs 191 officers — numbers indicative of law enforcement recruiting difficulties that Jackson, along with the rest of the country, is facing. In 2023, JPD hired 21 officers.

The starting salary for a JPD officer when Conger first took office in 2019 was $35,000. Today, salaries start at $50,000, with plans to make $53,000 in the near future.

He says the city will continue to work towards increasing salaries and benefits to promote recruitment efforts.

Community outreach, renovation, and development

With a concerted effort on the improvement to parks across the city, six more pickleball courts were added to Conger Park. Plans are in place to add two more tennis courts and six additional pickle ball courts.

The T.R. White Sportsplex received a new parking lot and entrance redesign, with completion to be expected soon.

Jackson’s Animal Care Center took in more than 1,500 animals over the course on 2023.

In 2023, the West Tennessee Sportsplex saw a 51% increase in teams from 2022, bringing the total to 1,682 teams.

The city’s Love Your Block initiative, a grant program aiming to help with revitalization and beautification of the community, completed 180 small home repairs across 14 projects.

Jackson Fire Department milestones

Conger shared the milestones made by JFD and particularly under the leadership of Fire Chief Don Friddle.

In March of 2023, Jackson became the first “four-minute city” in the world with its implementation of portable Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs).

In September, Fire Station #2 became home to Tennessee’s second Safe Haven Baby Box, providing mothers who can’t care for their newborn child a safe location to surrender the child without criminal prosecution. Jackson’s second box is expected to be established around late spring.

Of the 49,342 dispatch calls to 911 and 79,553 administrative calls for service in 2023, 100% were answered within 20 seconds. 98% were answered in 10 seconds.

“To the wonderful men and women who may be only a voice on the phone, you’re a hero to those who call,” Conger said.

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This article originally appeared on Jackson Sun: Jackson Mayor Scott Conger reflects on city accomplishments in address