The Centralia City Council approved new agreements on Monday night with unions representing Centralia’s patrolmen and dispatchers, awarding significant starting pay increases with the hopes of improving officer retention within the first five years of work. City Manager Galen Mahle explained why increasing starting pay to retain trained officers makes financial sense for the city.
“When we sat down with the unions for the first time, we asked them what their priorities were. One of the priorities was that we lose young employees after they’ve started and they’ve gotten trained and certified, then we lose them to other departments. As I discussed, the cost to train new is a whole lot more expensive than retaining current employees that we’ve already trained.”
Mahle says that the city sees the most trouble with retention in officers with between 2-5 years of service, while those still present after five years are likely to stay long-term.
There are other changes in the union agreements, such as safety time, an additional day off awarded to officers who avoid on-the-job accidents for a full calendar year. Holiday pay rate was changed to only apply to the “family five-pack” of New Years’ Day, Christmas Day, Thanksgiving Day, Independence Day, and Memorial Day. The new agreements also offer a $1500 annual payout to officers who decline health insurance coverage from the city for which they are eligible.
Per the agreements, starting base pay for a patrolman is now $63,508 per year. Starting pay for a dispatcher is $50,589.
