A Letter from Rhino Times reader Adam Marshall
In his July 5th blog post, Nicky Smith repeats a troubling trend of providing misinformation, this time regarding the starting pay of Greensboro police officers. As someone who believes strongly in honest, fact-based dialogue, I feel it’s important to set the record straight.
Contrary to Mr. Smith’s claim that Greensboro pays $46,000 for starting officers, compared to $55,000 paid by Burlington, the truth is that our officers are receiving some of the most competitive starting salaries in the area. As the 2025/2026 adopted budget shows, public safety accounts for roughly 26% of the City’s budget. Starting salary for a Greensboro police officer is $57,200, with an increase after academy graduation to $59,500, with additional incentives and benefits. By comparison, Burlington’s starting police pay is roughly $55,411. Greensboro’s starting pay is also higher than both Winston-Salem and High Point.
Greensboro has made deliberate investments to recruit and retain officers through higher pay, expanded benefits, and career advancement programs. These steps are critical not only to maintain public safety but to ensure our city remains a destination for new businesses and visitors.
Residents deserve honest information. Before making inaccurate and misleading claims that undermine confidence in our police force and city leadership, I urge Mr. Smith to do what every responsible candidate should: check the facts.
Adam Marshall
Candidate, Greensboro City Council – District 4
Remember. . .it was the democrats on the city council who didn’t support more money for the police. It goes back several years and some on the council didn’t want to increase the salaries, unless they got various projects in their neighborhoods funded as well. Smaller cities like Hickory were ahead of Greensboro, and you have to wonder why people don’t want to be a police officer in Greensboro? It’s all about the money and their pet projects.
Liberals are not big supporters of police but will fight for funding for their pet “community” projects.
Love having facts. Curious when the salary changed? Rhino has covered this topic for the last few years, and I believe the figures used by Tina came from prior year budgets as reported by RT?
sorry ment to say Nicky. (was thinking of someone else)
Mr. Marshall accuses me of “misinformation” regarding Greensboro police officer starting pay. My July 5th blog post was based on the City of Greensboro’s own published data at the time, which showed a listed starting pay of $46,000. Since then, the adopted 2025/2026 budget has included a pay adjustment to $57,200 before academy graduation and $59,500 after graduation, which I fully support. If the City updated those figures after my post, that is welcome news—but it does not change the fact that our city continues to face a serious challenge in recruiting and retaining officers.
While pay is one factor, it is far from the only one. Greensboro remains short on sworn officers, response times are stretched, and many residents feel less safe today than they did a few years ago. Competitive pay must be paired with a strong recruitment pipeline, better morale, and a city leadership that prioritizes public safety not just in words, but in action.
I will continue to call attention to issues that matter to our community, using the best available information at the time, and I will always acknowledge when updates occur. My commitment is to transparency, to listening to our citizens, and to making Greensboro a safer, stronger city for everyone.
Nicky Smith
Candidate – Greensboro City Council, District 4