Williamsburg discusses police pay scale

WILLIAMSBURG — The Williamsburg City Council tabled action last week on a resolution setting a pay scale for city police submitted by Police Chief Justin Parsons.

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The proposed resolution doesn’t change anything, said Parsons. It simply puts in writing what the police department is currently paying officers.

The resolution prompted a discussion of budget shortages, longevity pay and merit-based raises.

The proposal sets salaries based on the pay of the assistant police chief, which is currently $78,300. Sergeants make 97% of that, or $75,951, based on the pay scale.

Officers begin at step one, making 62% of the assistant chief’s salary, or $48,442, when they are hired. After finishing the academy, officers will make 65%, which is currently $50,895.

Officers move to step three after a year of service and will make 75% of the assistant chief’s salary.

Officers with two to five years’ experience will be at step four and will make 83.5% of the assistant’s salary. From five to 10 years, officers will make 87%, and from 15-20 years, 90%.

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Step seven is 20-25 years and 91%, and step eight is 25-30 and 93%.

Officers with 30 or more years of service would be at step nine making 95% of the salary of the assistant chief.

The numbers would change as the city implements cost-of-living increases each year.

Parsons consulted the city attorney, the personnel committee and the civil defense committee in creating the pay scale, the resolution says.

The pay scale tells officers what they can expect if they take a job with Williamsburg Police Department, said Parsons.

Previously the department was divided into senior officers and junior officers, so people could be there for a long time without going to the next step, said Parsons.

City Council members wondered if the city would be held to the scale if the city couldn’t afford pay raises. In the event of a wage freeze, the council could also freeze officers at whatever steps they were currently on, said Parson.

City Attorney Eric Tindal suggested adding that to the resolution before passage.

“You’re also trying to balance out retention,” Tindal said. The city may have to freeze pay but keep the steps in order to retain officers, he said.

“It’s really just about good communication and making it clear from the get-go,” said Tindal.

Councilman Tyler Marshall said he works in the private sector and doesn’t like giving pay raises based on steps rather than performance.

Parsons said the department could look at measures to include merit. “This is definitely step one,” he said. “I want to have some degree of merit as well.”

Parsons also wants to attract officers. The police department has been down one officer for an extended period of time, he said.

He’s had three full-time officers maxed out on overtime, Parsons said. One new officer just graduated from the academy, which will alleviate some understaffing problems.

Parsons would like to hire a part-time officer, he told the council. He has leads on a couple of people who might be interested, he said.

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But small, rural communities have trouble attracting new officers, Parsons said.

Most cities pay more to officers working nights and weekends. “We don’t have a pay differential,” said Parsons. That might be something the city should add.

Most departments have longevity pay as well, Parson said.

That’s basically what the step-scale presented by Parsons is, said City Manager Aaron Sandersfeld. “This is a longevity scale.”

Marshall conceded that merit-based systems also have problems. “Merit” can be determined by bosses who have personality conflicts with employees.

“And I get it. I’m not saying this is good or bad,” Marshall said of the pay-scale resolution.

“Defining merit, I think, is where you run into trouble,” said Tindal. He doesn’t want the department to start having quotas.

Training is usually merit based, said Parsons. As an officer completes training, he receives more money.

Certification may be better criteria, Tindal agreed. “Merit-based raises are great in concept,” he said, but it’s difficult in practice.

It comes down to who’s making the decision, said Councilman Dale Walters. “I’ve seen favoritism wreck merit systems.” It also causes morale problems, he said.

The council will address the resolution during its next meeting, Monday, Oct. 28, at 6:30 p.m.