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Commissioners hear details on police lateral hires; staff say city offers modest $10,000 bonus
Summary
The Fire and Police Commission approved a transfer/lateral police officer eligible list and heard staff describe how lateral hires are paid, how Milwaukee compares with other jurisdictions and that Milwaukee emphasizes community engagement as a recruitment draw.
The Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission unanimously approved a resolution to accept the transfer or lateral police officer eligible list at its March 6 meeting and discussed recruitment and pay for lateral hires.
The commission considered item 13, FPC 211,970, described on the agenda as “approval of the transfer or lateral police officer eligible list for the Milwaukee Police Department.” Commissioners questioned how Milwaukee’s lateral compensation and bonus compare with neighboring jurisdictions.
Commissioner Evans said she was “just learning a lot of information with the lateral movement” and asked whether Milwaukee’s pay is comparable to other police districts. A staff member answering the question said that under the city’s memorandum of understanding, laterals are placed at the pay step that corresponds to their years of law-enforcement experience. “So if they have, you know, 5 years of experience, they would come in at the equivalent of a year 5 MPD officer in terms of salary,” the staff member said. The staff member added that Milwaukee’s contract is “at least 2 or 3 years past its expiration date,” which makes the pay schedule somewhat dated.
Commissioners also discussed lateral bonuses. A commissioner noted that, even with the city’s bonus, officers said Milwaukee’s lateral bonus is smaller than in other jurisdictions. The staff member said Milwaukee currently offers a $10,000 lateral bonus and described that as “relatively modest” compared with larger bonuses offered in some West Coast cities and in Washington, D.C., and Boston. The staff member added anecdotally that candidates are sometimes attracted by Milwaukee’s focus on community engagement.
A motion to approve the transfer/lateral eligible list was moved and seconded on the floor; the chair called a voice vote and the motion carried.
The discussion and the resolution were informational and personnel-focused; commissioners did not adopt changes to the MOU or the bonus amount at the meeting.
