We expect much from our city staff, and it is my observation they seldom disappoint. The city has a longstanding policy of paying the average in our local labor market, and this generally results in attracting candidates who perform at a very high level for the community. We have indeed been fortunate.
However, there are several professions where the average wage is being pushed upward at a rate that dramatically exceeds inflation due to a shortage of qualified individuals. One such area is law enforcement.
Over the past three years, we have found that paying what we do for law enforcement professionals has caused Menlo Park to become a training ground and simply a stop on the way to a more lucrative career in law enforcement … elsewhere. We have struggled to pay the average, we have fallen behind, and it’s not working. In fact, the current police officer salary ranks 10th among our 12 comparison cities.
The fact remains we are in a highly competitive market for experienced officers, with a shrinking pool of qualified candidates due to the high standards and training required to function as a police officer. If the turnover rate in our police department continues, mandatory overtime will cause burnout among those who are left; and because of the need to focus on police patrol and training, service to the community in the area of traffic enforcement, investigations and code enforcement will suffer.
We cannot allow Menlo Park’s police department to become a revolving door. We simply must stabilize the situation. We believe that this contract, which we anticipate will elevate our rank to third or fourth among our competitor cities in the next three years, will help us achieve the stability we seek.
This is not a complete solution. We are also working from within to build teamwork and expand our recruitment efforts to ensure we attract the best-qualified individuals possible.
On a positive note, we have recently hired a number of promising individuals, some as laterals from other police agencies, and others who come from the police academy and are new to the profession. This three-year agreement will give us time to strengthen the culture in the police department, so that Menlo Park is seen as an employer of choice, can fully staff specialty positions, and is able to maintain the high quality of public safety service we have all come to know and expect.
Andy Cohen is mayor of Menlo Park
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