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Chief details specialized assignment pay and a public-safety pay adjustment to compete for recruits
Summary
Chief Mitchell proposed a specialized pay bump for detectives and other specialized roles while in assignment and discussed a public-safety adjustment combined with COLA to help bring officer pay closer to peer cities and improve recruitment and retention.
Chief Mitchell described a two-part compensation approach: a public-safety pay adjustment to move base pay closer to peer cities and a specialized-assignment pay for officers in roles that require extra training and hours. He framed specialized pay as an ongoing increase while an officer holds a specialized role rather than a one-time bonus.
"When... they go from the patrol officer interviews for detective... if they go to detective, they get a specialized paid bump in while they're in that position," Chief Mitchell said, explaining that the additional pay recognizes training and experience and helps retention. He and council referenced a combined target that would equate roughly to a 6% total adjustment (COLA plus public-safety adjustment) in the memo's calculations and discussed comparisons with neighboring jurisdictions where pay may be higher.
Council members noted recruitment pressures across the metro area and emphasized that pay is one of multiple retention tools (culture, leadership, career pathways). Staff said they would continue to monitor vacancy and retention metrics and would return with updated comparative pay data as the budget process proceeds.
