Why city leaders should own retention too
Turnover costs land across several budgets — overtime, HR, training, recruiting — so no single department sees the full picture. MissionSquare Research Institute's surveys of state and local government workforce trends and ICMA resources are useful context for city leaders.
Levers available to municipal leaders
Compensation and benefits
Regular market reviews, retention incentives, and benefits that employees value. Section 125 cafeteria plans let eligible employees pay certain benefit costs pre-tax, which can reduce employer payroll taxes as well. See the IRS guidance for government entities.
Shared workforce data
Track separations, vacancies and overtime across public safety and share them with chiefs and finance on a regular cadence.
Support and wellbeing
City-wide EAPs may not fit public safety. Consider supplemental support designed for first responders.
How Frontline supports municipalities
Frontline gives cities a public safety retention program with two sides: personalized support for each employee through 360 Advantage and Frontline Pulse visibility for leadership. The program is structured to include Section 125 savings.
Frontline's planning model uses national benchmarks: an 8% annual turnover rate, about $70,000 per departure, and a 2.7% retention improvement, plus Section 125 savings of about $1,230 per participating employee per year.
Sources and further reading
See what retention is worth to your agency.
Frontline's impact calculator estimates one-year and five-year retention value and Section 125 savings based on participation.