Some employees in certain Cape Girardeau departments will now be able to receive a bit of extra pay, which the city wants to use to attract more applicants.

On Friday, the City of Cape Girardeau announced a new hiring incentive of $6,000 for positions requiring specific certifications in the police fire and public works departments.

"In 2021, voters passed the Use Tax, and the City announced an updated and more competitive citywide pay plan scheduled to be implemented in July 2022," city manager Kenneth Haskin said in a news release. "Furthermore, the total compensation offered to full-time employees includes a healthy benefit package providing health, dental, life insurance, retirement pension plan, paid holidays, paid vacation leave, paid sick leave and more."

A use tax is a tax on the storage, use or consumption of a taxable item or service on which no sales tax has been paid — online or out-of-state purchases.

The $6,000 certification stipend will be paid over a three-year period. Haskin said the incentive will be used to bring people into the different departments to provide services to residents.

Cape Girardeau Chief of Police Wes Blair said he hopes the incentive will attract experienced officers the department can get on the streets more quickly than sending a new officer to the police academy for six months. The police department is hiring individuals for a variety of positions including officers, jailers and dispatchers.

"A lot of departments are doing this and that have seen some success with it," Blair said. "So, we're hopeful that, for one, to stay competitive with those other departments that are already doing it, that this will help. Then also, we'll start seeing some success with it as well."

Individuals who are interested in the new incentive program may find more information on the City of Cape Girardeau website — www.cityofcapegirardeau.org — along with a list of positions currently available.