NATCHEZ &8212; Most Mississippi towns the size of Natchez pay firefighters and police officers at least $1,000 more.

Most towns around Natchez&8217; population pay their police officers anywhere from $1,000 to $5,000 more than NPD officers receive as a starting salary.

Other towns the about the size of Natchez pay firefighters $1,000 to $6,000 more than NFD start out with.

The numbers come from the 2005 Annual Municipal Salary Survey by the Mississippi Municipal League and the Stennis Institute of Government at MSU.

The current starting salary at the Natchez Police Department, who asked the aldermen for a raise at Tuesday&8217;s meeting, is $21,420. They get pay raises of about a thousand dollars every five years or so, up to a point, Chief Mike Mullins said.

Fire Chief Paul Johnson said firefighters earn a base salary of $20,616.72. They get raises of three to five percent every few months or so.

Mayor Phillip West said he and the board of aldermen had been talking about raising firefighters&8217; and police salaries for several months.

&8220;That has been a problem for a number of years,&8221; West said Wednesday. &8220;We want to look at all of the numbers and see what we can do.&8221;

Several aldermen expressed interest in raising the police and fire salaries, as well.

The board of alderman passed a salary increase for itself the end of June in a 3-3 split. The mayor broke the tie, and the aldermen&8217;s salaries rose from $18,500 to $22,300.

At the time, Alderman James &8220;Rickey&8221; Gray voted against the raise because he said he thought the police and fire departments should get raises before the aldermen did.

Gray echoed the sentiment Wednesday.

&8220;They&8217;re the ones who protect the city,&8221; Gray said. &8220;I&8217;m 100 percent in favor of getting fire and police the money they need to protect the city.&8221;

West said he was looking at raising salaries for many employed by the city who are underpaid.

&8220;There are a number of persons who have been underpaid for many years,&8221; West said. &8220;They work in various departments and have very low pay.&8221;