But even as the belt-tightening occurs and some wages are frozen, the city is paying out for what was negotiated before the recession — salaries that make Seattle more competitive with other jurisdictions.
As is often said here on APC - you are worth what you can negotiate.
Seems that their unions were pretty successful in all of the three departments.
Seattle police officers were relatively underpaid before 2008, O'Neill says. Until then, their annual starting pay ranked behind seven West Coast cities used as comparables in bargaining. (The "West Coast Seven" are Portland, Sacramento, San Francisco, Long Beach, Oakland, San Jose and San Diego.)
Sounds like they finally got what they were worth when compared to other jurisdictions.
Seattle was having well-documented problems hiring new officers back when the economy was roaring. And it was losing its own to nearby cities that paid more. The 2008 contract aimed "to stop the exodus," O'Neill said, "and attract the best and brightest."
Sounds like they didn't have teenagers or young adults on their professional internet forums saying stuff like "I have wanted to be a policeman all my life! I don't care about the money as long as I get to drive the car and turn the lights on".
Overtime is key
"We're infected by people, exposed to carcinogens, it's all this invisible stuff, not just collapsing buildings," he says.
One big difference, though, between pay for police and firefighters is overtime.
While overtime amounted to just 6 percent of city payroll last year, it was a decisive factor for a majority of the city employees who made six figures last year — particularly firefighters.
Ah. Having to work longer, harder, at some of the most dangerous jobs.
O'Neill says. "We have the most dangerous jobs."
Good for those guys and gals. They deserve it.
USMCFLYR