Everett City Council Approves Incentives To Become Or Remain An Everett Police Officer

December 23, 2021

Everett Government, Police Blotter

Everett Police Chief Dan Templeman explains the incentive program to Seattle TV crews during an event in Everett Wednesday.

At their meeting Wednesday, the city council in Everett, Washington approved five separate measures dealing with compensation for employees working for the Everett Police Department or experienced police officers coming to join the department from an outside agency.

The five items considered by the Council included...

Item 1 – Experience Officer Hiring Incentive Program
 Increases in-state lateral incentive from $20,000 to $25,000
 Increases out-of-state lateral incentive from $15,000 to $20,000
 Creates a new signing incentive of $15,000, for BLEA certified officers (officers who have completed academy training, but who have less than 2 years law enforcement experience)
 Additional $5,000 incentive for lateral officers with more than 5 years law enforcement experience
 Pre-load of 80 hours of vacation and 80 hours of sick time for lateral and BLEA certified officers
 Relocation (moving) assistance in the amount of $7,500 for laterals and BLEA certified officers who move from outside of Snohomish County

Item 2 – Retention Incentive Pay for current Everett Police Officers & Sergeants in 2022
A one-time monetary incentive amounting to 2% of an employee’s base salary, for members meeting certain criteria. The incentive is intended to recognize and retain current police officers and police sergeants. Police departments are losing commissioned officers at an alarming rate – either to retirement, new career opportunities or to other departments, including out of state. Everett has had officers leave for work in other states and anticipates more separations next year. Due tostringent background requirements, finding qualified employees to fill these positions
is extremely difficult, labor intensive and expensive. Retaining highly trained and experienced employees is a benefit to not only the department, but more importantly, the community.

Item 3 – Retention Incentive Par for current Everett Police Lieutenants and Captains in 2022
A one-time monetary incentive amounting to 2% of an employee’s base salary, for members meeting certain criteria. The incentive is intended to recognize and retain current police officers and police sergeants. Police departments are losing commissioned officers at an alarming rate – either to retirement, new career opportunities or to other departments, including out of state. Everett has had officers leave for work in other states and anticipates more separations next year. Due to stringent background requirements, finding qualified employees to fill these positions is extremely difficult, labor intensive and expensive. Retaining highly trained and experienced employees is a benefit to not only the department, but more importantly, our community.

Item 4 – Retention Incentive – Everett Police Non-Represented Employees
A one-time monetary incentive amounting to 2% of an employee’s base salary, for members meeting certain criteria. The incentive is intended to recognize and retain Everett Police Department non-represented employees. This incentive is to recognize police non-represented employees who have been working under challenging conditions and encourage them to remain employed at the Everett Police Department.
Due to stringent background requirements, finding qualified employees to fill these positions is extremely difficult, labor intensive and expensive. Retaining highly trained and experienced employees is a benefit to not only the department, but more importantly, the community.

Item 5 – Retention Incentive – Everett Police Non-Represented Employees
A one-time monetary incentive amounting to 2% of an employee’s base salary, for members meeting certain criteria. The incentive is intended to recognize and retain Everett Police Department non-represented employees. This incentive is to recognize police non-represented employees who have been working under challenging conditions and encourage them to remain employed at the Everett Police Department.
Due to stringent background requirements, finding qualified employees to fill these positions is extremely difficult, labor intensive and expensive. Retaining highly trained and experienced employees is a benefit to not only the department, but more importantly, the community.
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For more context, here’s a release from Everett Police issued Wednesday afternoon outlining the incentives approved.

Today, with the support of city administration the Everett City Council approved a series of incentives designed to attract experienced police officers to the ranks of the Everett Police Department.  With a goal to hire at least 25 police officers in 2022, the Everett Police Department is actively recruiting for both entry level and experienced police officers. The incentives announced Wednesday include monetary hiring incentives from $15,000 up to $30,000, depending upon experience.

Like many departments locally and nationally, the Everett Police Department has experienced a higher-than-average number of officer separations in 2021 and is competing to attract qualified police officer candidates who reflect the diversity of the Everett community.

“The Everett Police Department is a great place to work,” said Chief Dan Templeman.   “We are a mid-size department that is not so large that you become just a number but are yet still large enough to offer a variety of specialty unit assignments and opportunities for career growth.  I am pleased to see the city administration and city council’s support of public safety in Everett and their commitment to making Everett PD the agency of choice for new officers or experienced officers looking to make a change.”

An experienced police officer’s starting salary in Everett is over $100,000, and also includes a competitive benefits and retirement package.  Additionally, experienced officers are eligible for other incentives including: hiring bonuses of up to $30,000, college incentive pay, preload at time of hire of 80 hours of vacation and 80 hours of sick leave, moving expense reimbursement of up to $7,500 and a take home vehicle program.

An entry-level police officer’s salary starts at $78,000 with annual increases.  Once an entry level officer reaches their third year, their salary climbs to over $102,000, not including overtime or educational incentives.

Newly hired Everett officers typically start out in patrol and after their first year become eligible join many specialized units to include detectives, SWAT, Marine Operations, Traffic Safety, Youth Services, Anti-Crime and others. View the 2020 Annual Report for more information.

To accommodate an increase in applications, the Everett Police Department recently tripled its cadre of full-time background investigators.  Their sole focus is on expediting the background process for eligible applicants while still maintaining the high standards the department has become accustomed to.

The Everett Police Department serves a population of over 111,000 residents, offering vast amenities and services to its growing community.  Everett is located 25 miles north of Seattle, nestled between the Puget Sound and the Snohomish River.

Learn more and begin the application process at everettwa.gov/police.



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