Officer Andrae Smith, the recruiter at the Plano Police Department, had jobs to fill. So he ordered up five billboards—one in Norman, Okla., and the rest in Texas—with a big, bold number: $97,646.
That was the top salary a police officer could earn in the wealthy Dallas suburb of Plano. Since last year, when the billboards went up, budget increases let the department bump up its pay again. That number is now $108,150, and the billboards have been updated too.