CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- If you call 911 Saturday night through Sunday morning, it could take police longer than usual to respond.
Not only is it a busy night with Cinco de Mayo, Kentucky Derby parties and the Wells Fargo Championship but the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department is also dealing with a staff shortage.
"Roughly 150 officers short right now," said CMPD's Rob Tufano. "That's our vacancy rate and that means something."
NBC Charlotte asked CMPD if the current officer shortage would impact response time and police presence across the Queen City.
"It just means the officers that are on the rolls right now, on the payroll right now are working that much harder and we have to do a lot more with less. That means officers are picking up overtime [Saturday night into Sunday morning] to ensure your safety."
NBC Charlotte learned details of salaries for about 20 different police departments and according to an internal document, it shows CMPD is well below the average.
The analysis, which uses data from the U.S. Department of Justice, show the starting salary for CMPD officers is about $44,000, which is about $7,000 less than the average salary of officers from other police agencies.
As CMPD works to recruit more officers, there is a push for better pay.
"Between the chief, the city manager and city council, they are talking about the vacancy rate. They are talking about improving salary for our current officers and our officers we are thinking about getting into the profession," Tufano said.