American Fork police need a raise.

That is what American Fork Police Chief Lance Call is hoping to convince the City Council.

Last year the city lost 11 of its officers, he said.

"When you lose one-third of your department in a year, that is bad," Call said. "I think the wage was a big part of it." Call was hired in the latter part of 2005.

He submitted a budget to Mayor Heber Thompson for the coming fiscal year calling for a total of $300,000 in wage increases.

Only one of the city's 20 line officers has more than 10 years experience he told the City Council in a recent meeting. Ideally the force would have a variety of experience.

"The danger is that brand-new baby cops make brand-new baby mistakes," he said. "We have traditionally been the training ground for other cities."

Call submitted other increases for consideration, but said the pay was top of the list.

"The most pressing category is the wages," he said.

He compared the city's pay with other communities in Utah and Salt Lake Counties. At the top of the scale, Lehi had a starting wage of $18.32, while American Fork was at the bottom with $14.80.

Utah County itself was slightly lower at $14.55, but county officers have less training than is required by cities, he said.

Call proposed increasing the wage to $18 for those with less than five years experience, and implementing a range of $22 to $25 for those with more.

Thompson said the city would consider the changes.

"We realize that the wage scale of our police officers is not competitive with many of our surrounding communities," he said. "We anticipate taking steps in the next budget year to get our police wages into a more competitive range."

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page B1.