LAWRENCE, KANSAS POLICE DEPARTMENT
COMPENSATION PROGRAM FOR OFFICERS AND DETECTIVES PERSONNEL
The Lawrence, Kansas Police Department Compensation Program for Officers and Detectives consists of several components:
· Base Pay, which includes, within ranges, annual merit pay opportunities and competency opportunities, as recommended by the Chief of Police and approved by the City Manager
· Overtime (when applicable)+
· Add Pay, as applied to the Field Training Officer program
· Benefits, as described in the City’s Employee Handbook and the relevant Memorandum of Understanding.
This document serves to outline the various components of the Program. The Program consists of a pay grade for each position of Police Officer and Detective. Following are the details of the administration of the Compensation Program for these positions.
+The Department’s compensatory time procedures are described in attachment A and can be utilized in lieu of overtime subject to staffing issues and supervisory approval.
I. POLICE OFFICER
The pay grade for Police Officer is divided into equal increments or “steps” with each step representing an increase of approximately 2.5%. The Police Officer pay grade is twenty-two (22) steps and is represented in attachment C.
These twenty-two (22) steps represent Base Pay with merit and competency opportunities. Advancement through the Police Officer pay grade can be accomplished utilizing both of the following opportunities: merit increases achieved by performing at an overall “meets expectations” or above level on annual performance evaluations and attaining specific competencies. These competencies are described in greater detail later in this document (see attachment B).
Base Pay for a newly hired police officer typically starts at Step 1 of the pay grade shown above.
Merit opportunities are available to an officer at the time of the Annual Performance Review. Merit pay increases can be obtained by receiving an overall “meets expectations” or above rating and the recommendation of the Chief of Police (as per the City Employee Handbook, Section II.G.).
Using the information contained in the chart below, an officer moving meritoriously through the pay plan without taking advantage of any of the competency opportunities (i.e. does not earn any of the aforementioned competencies), can typically expect to “top out” at step sixteen (16) on their eighth anniversary with the Department, provided they are meeting performance expectations.
NOTE – the top pay for the Police Officer position is at step 16 if no competencies are earned.
|
Milestone |
Merit % increase |
Step |
|
Hire Date |
n/a |
1^ |
|
1st Anniversary |
5% |
3* |
|
2nd Anniversary |
5% |
5* |
|
3rd Anniversary |
5% |
7** |
|
4th Anniversary |
5% |
9* |
|
5th Anniversary |
5% |
11** |
|
6th Anniversary |
5% |
13 |
|
7th Anniversary |
5% |
15 |
|
8th Anniversary |
2.5% |
16 |
^assumes officer is hired in at step one (1) in the pay plan
*performance evaluation includes written test
**performance evaluation includes interview with Police Chief
Competency opportunities are available to police officers to provide additional incentive to achieve specific competencies, as identified herein, recommended by the Chief of Police, and approved by the City Manager. These competencies are defined as requiring significant effort on the part of the employee to obtain/maintain and are of specific benefit to the Department. Attachment B to this Program provides significant detail regarding the requirements for each competency.
An officer is eligible to participate in this component after successfully completing two (2) years of employment with the Department. Typically, competencies can be achieved at the rate of one each year to a maximum of six (6), and are payable at the time of the performance evaluation if a new competency has been achieved since the last performance review. Each approved competency will add 2.5% competency pay for the officer. No more than three (3) of the six (6) can come from any one of the four (4) general areas outlined below with the exception that an officer may obtain up to four (4) educational competencies. The purpose of this component of the Compensation Program is to enhance the lifelong knowledge base of the officer and in turn the Department, thus providing enhanced service quality to the citizens of Lawrence.
The list of potential competencies that are available to officers can be grouped into four general areas, as defined below:
Perishable Competencies*
§ Arson Investigator
§ Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Certification
§ First Responder
§ Intoxilizer Operator
§ M-Squad
§ Patrol Felony Investigator
*Police officer must remain current and certified in order to be eligible to receive pay for these competencies. The loss of certification in a competency in this area will result in an equivalent loss (i.e. 2.5%) of pay. This reduction is not grievable under the City’s grievance procedure.
Technical Competencies*
§ Accident Investigator
§ Motor Vehicle Inspector
§ Evidence Technician I
§ Evidence Technician II
§ Expert Witness
§ Special Forensics Technician
*Police officer must remain current and certified in order to be eligible to receive pay for these competencies. The loss of certification in a competency in this area will result in an equivalent loss (i.e. 2.5%) of pay. This reduction is not grievable under the City’s grievance procedure.
Educational Competencies
§ Completion of 60 hours college level course work
§ Bachelor’s degree from accredited college/university
§ Master’s degree
§ Foreign Language I
§ Foreign Language II
§ Interview/Interrogation School and Homicide School
§ Military Service
Special Assignments (upon selection by Police Chief)
§ Armorer
§ Computer Forensics
§ Drug Enforcement Investigator
§ Evidence Custodian
§ Intoxilizer Mechanic
§ Juvenile Investigator
§ Range Master
§ School Resource Officer
§ Neighborhood Resources Officer
§ Traffic Unit Officer
§ Training Unit
Officer
§ Other Special Assignment as determined by Police Chief
The following table illustrates the “best case scenario” for a police officer to advance through the Compensation Program with the combination of merit and competency opportunities. The actual rate of progress will be determined by the effort expended by the individual officer to perform at an overall “meets expectations” or above and to achieve/maintain each of six competencies throughout their career with the Department (as per the City Employee Handbook, Section II.G.).
|
Milestone |
% increase – merit |
% increase - competency |
Step |
|
Hire date |
n/a |
n/a |
1 |
|
1st anniversary |
5% |
n/a |
3 |
|
2nd anniversary |
5% |
2.5% |
6 |
|
3rd anniversary |
5% |
2.5% |
9 |
|
4th anniversary |
5% |
2.5% |
12 |
|
5th anniversary |
5% |
2.5% |
15 |
|
6th anniversary |
5% |
2.5% |
18 |
|
7th anniversary |
5% |
2.5% |
21 |
|
8th anniversary |
2.5% |
n/a |
22 |
Overtime. The Police Officer position is a non-exempt position which means that it is not exempt from the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Base pay is determined on an hourly basis and officers will be paid overtime (1.5 times the regular rate of pay) or are eligible for compensatory time off in lieu of overtime pay, for working over eighty (80) hours in the designated fourteen (14) day work period or consistent with the 2010 Lawrence Police Officer’s Association (LPOA) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), for time worked in excess of the normal daily scheduled shift. The Chief of Police or designee will assign available overtime on an as needed basis and will attempt to distribute overtime throughout the workforce, when possible, keeping skills needed and officer availability in mind. Consistent with overall City compensation objectives, the objective for overtime pay is that average officer overtime pay earned should not exceed 10% of the officer’s earnings in any given year.
Add Pay is associated with the Field Training Office (FTO) program which is a program essential to the ongoing training efforts by the Department to provide a mechanism to move newly hired candidates (recruits) through a rigorous process with the goal of producing well-trained police officers for assimilation into the ranks. In order to provide this program at a level that is necessary and provide adequate additional pay for the additional duties and responsibilities assigned to selected senior police officers, this Add Pay element is provided as part of the Department’s Compensation Plan.
The Field Training Officer is a police officer selected through a competitive selection process which can include endorsement by patrol supervisors, an interview board, endorsement of the training unit supervisors, and an interview with the Chief of Police. The assignment typically lasts a minimum of twelve (12) weeks, but can be extended depending upon the progress of the recruit assigned and the recommendation of the Chief of Police.
The FTO must complete a familiarization course of the FTO program prior to assignment to a recruit. The FTO spends time demonstrating, observing, correcting and evaluating the assigned recruit’s behavior against the department’s standards. The FTO is responsible for daily, weekly, and final reports on the recruit’s progress through the program.
A one time payment, as recommended by the Chief of Police and approved by the City Manager, is to be paid upon the satisfactory completion of the FTO task. The one time payment, which shall be adjusted annually, will be calculated as follows:
o Step 22 of the Police Officer pay range X 1.5 overtime rate
X 10% x 40 hours x 12 weeks
The retention or elimination of the recruit is generally not a factor in the evaluation of FTO performance. The FTO is judged and evaluated based on providing service consistent with the established FTO program.
II. DETECTIVE
The pay grade for Detective is divided into equal increments or “steps” with each step representing an increase of approximately 2.5%. The Detective pay grade is seventeen (17) steps and is represented in attachment C.
These seventeen (17) steps represent the Base Pay opportunity for Detectives. Advancement through the Detective pay grade can be accomplished utilizing merit increase opportunities achieved by performing at an overall “meets expectations” or above on annual performance evaluations and with the recommendation of the Chief of Police (as per the City Employee Handbook, Section II.G.).
Base Pay for a newly promoted detective starts at a step that is dependent upon the individual promotion opportunity. Typically, a promotional increase of 2.5% but not less than to the first step of the pay range for a police officer promoted to the Detective position will be given at the time of promotion. The first opportunity to participate in a merit increase opportunity will occur at the six month anniversary of the promotion date. Merit opportunities will continue annually thereafter until the detective either reaches the top of the pay grade or is promoted to another position in the Department.
Overtime. The Detective position is a non-exempt position which means that it is not exempt from the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Base pay is determined on an hourly basis and detectives will be paid overtime (1.5 times the regular rate of pay) or are eligible for compensatory time off in lieu of overtime pay, for working over eighty (80) hours in the designated fourteen (14) day work period or consistent with the 2010 LPOA MOU for time worked in excess of the normal daily scheduled shift. The Chief of Police or designee will assign available overtime on an as needed basis and will attempt to distribute overtime throughout the workforce, when possible, keeping skills needed and officer availability in mind. Consistent with overall City compensation objectives, the objective for overtime pay is that average detective overtime pay earned should not exceed 10% of the detective’s earnings in any given year.
Note – Detectives are not eligible for the Police Officer Competency element.
Attachments:
Attachment A – Compensatory Time Procedures
Police Officer and Detective Job Classifications
Attachment B – Requirements for Competencies
Police Officer Job Classification
Attachment C – Pay Grades for Officers and Detectives