From Staff Reports

Asheville Police Chief David Zack urged City Council and the city administration to support his request to boost salaries for the Asheville Police Department during the second day of council’s annual retreat on March 3 in the Buncombe County Administration Building at 200 College St. in downtown Asheville.

According to APD spokeswoman Samantha Booth, as of Feb. 28, the unit was down 40 percent of sworn officers, with only 144 out of 238 sworn officers available on a daily basis.

“We keep making gains — the problem is the competition is stepping it up every time we start to get ahead,” the Asheville Citizen Times quoted Zack as saying. “We (the APD) need to be the highest paid agency in the state.”