Police Contract Includes Pay Raises, Accountability
City Council Approves Four-Year Contract

SEATTLE – Mayor Greg Nickels today said City Council approval of a new city contract with the Seattle Police Officer's Guild marks a major milestone for accountability and officer pay.

The contract increased wages by 25.6 percent over the life of the four-year contract. It also included provisions recommended by the 2007 Police Accountability Review Panel.

"We value the hard work and dedication of the men and women who serve in the Seattle Police Department," said Nickels. "This successful contract benefitted all those involved, and will allow us to recruit the best officers in the nation."

"It marks an important step in police accountability," said Rich O'Neill, president of the Seattle Police Officer's Guild. "It recognizes the important work of Seattle police officers and it proves what can happen when labor and management sit at the table and bargain in good faith. It's a new era of cooperation and we look forward to a new way of doing business."

The contract enabled Seattle to become the top-paid police agency in the state, based on current contracts. And it will both allow the department to retain veteran officers and fully implement the mayor's Neighborhood Policing Plan to expand the patrol force by 25 percent and provide officers with more time to work proactively on public safety issues.

Under the contract, a 12-year officer's current salary will increase from $72,072 to $90,516. That officer will receive $6,807 in retroactive pay, as of April 2008. Entry-level police officer pay would increase by 35.9 percent compounded over the life of the contract, from $47,340 to $64,312.

The contract, coupled with existing recruiting incentives, will help Seattle hire an additional 150 police officers. These incentives include:

• $5,000 hiring incentive
• $2,500 in equipment provided to new recruits
• $14,000 (maximum) potential moving allowance

The shift changes are tied to the mayor's Neighborhood Policing Plan, which puts officers where they're needed, when they're needed. Patrol officers' work shifts will be revised to match the workload.

The police accountability system recommendations were provided by an 11-member panel Nickels appointed in June 2007 to perform a thorough and comprehensive review of Seattle's police accountability system. The panel members were: Judge Terrence A. Carroll, ret., chair; Bob Boruchowitz, vice chair; Jenny A. Durkan; Lorena González; Pramila Jayapal; Gary Locke; Hubert G. Locke; Judith Krebs; Mike McKay; Norman B. Rice; and Jennifer Shaw.

The 2007 Police Accountability Review Panel released its final report on Jan. 29, 2008. The panel concluded the general structure of Seattle's police oversight system - with its civilian director, auditor and review board - should continue. The panel found all three components play roles in the oversight process. The panel also found many aspects of the current police accountability system are valuable and encourage an effective citizen-complaint process.

The panel did, however, find room for improvement and provided Nickels with 29 specific recommendations for enhancing and strengthening the police accountability system in the following four areas:

• Accountability & Public Confidence
• Independence
• Professional Conduct
• Transparency

The panel's recommendations focused on the following areas:

• Expanding the role of the OPA auditor;
• Increasing independence and authority of the OPA director;
• Establishing the OPA Review Board as the key link to the community;
• Maximizing public access to information regarding the accountability system;
• Maintaining the highest professional standards; and
• Enhancing the cooperation and coordination of the OPA entities.

Nickels accepted all 29 recommendations and immediately implemented more than half of them. Now that the police union has approved the labor agreement, the city will be able to implement all 29 recommendations.

Visit the mayor's web site at www.seattle.gov/mayor. Get the mayor's inside view on efforts to promote transportation, public safety, economic opportunity and healthy communities by signing up for The Nickels Newsletter at www.seattle.gov/mayor/newsletter_signup.htm

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