I'd Do It for Half that Price

 

May 22, 2026

 

The state-run Police Board that governs the St. Louis Police Department was looking for $300,000 to do a pay study. It’s already established that the pay for officers is too low to keep the city department fully staffed, so that part of the study is unnecessary.

 

If by “pay study” they mean looking at other departments in comparably-sized cities in regions with comparable economic factors, I imagine that they could just hop on the internet. After all, isn’t that what the officers are doing in order to find the better-paying jobs? And don’t sites like LinkedIn and other job sources tell people to do just that?

 

But, if the Board insists on having a study, I’ll take on the job for only $150,000. I’ll have to pay a sub-contractor to actually use the internet, but I’ll still come out ahead. And so will the Police Board.