Proposed New Pay Structure Would Make PHX Police Highest Paid In AZ

PHOENIX, AZ —Police officer salaries in Phoenix soon could be rising under a proposed compensation restructure that, if approved next week, would go into effect later this summer, the city has announced.

The proposal would bring salary ranges approximately 10-percent higher than any other law enforcement agency in the state, according to those familiar with the plan. Currently, the Phoenix recruit position is approximately 7 percent below the market average, according to those who have studied officer salaries.

Supporters of an improved pay structure said lower salaries have made it difficult for Phoenix to attract the best officers.

"Our goal in Phoenix is to be a world-class city, and that means using the tools necessary to build a world-class police department. In other words, to hire the best, we need to pay the best," said Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego. "As we attract these top-notch officers, we must also expect the very highest level of accountability to meet the expectations of our community."

Last year, City Councilwoman Ann O'Brien, who is the Public Safety and Justice Subcommittee chairwoman, assembled a strategy group of people in law enforcement, government and human resources to study how police salaries in Phoenix compare to other jurisdictions.

The group then came up with a plan for a restructured salary scale it said will ensure that every officer will receive greater earning potential and that no officer will see a decrease in pay.

The group is due to present its findings to Gallego and the city council. The council is scheduled to vote on the pay structure at its Wednesday, June 15 meeting.

The proposal would take effect on August 8, and the increases associated with the restructured compensation package would be absorbed by the current city budget, according to the city.

The city said the proposed compensation restructure is designed to make Phoenix a market leader at the recruit level, where starting salaries would rise to $68,661 from the current $48,941. Salaries then would rise accordingly from the higher starting figure.

"By similarly streamlining the system of starting salaries and pay grade steps from recruits to assistant chiefs, officers will have increased earning capacity throughout their careers," the city said in a statement.

With the change, O'Brien said, Phoenix officers and recruits "will be some of the highest-paid in the state."

"This not only increases both the starting and maximum salaries, it also simplifies the pay structure, rewarding those who choose this noble profession," O'Brien said. "Phoenix is the largest city in the state, and our officers should see a salary structure which reflects that."

O'Brien also is a proponent of increasing the number of sworn officers in Phoenix. That reduction began, O'Brien said, when the city council put a freeze on the hiring of new officers after the 2008 financial crisis.

"We still have so much work to do in order to bring the number of sworn officers back to where we were prior to the 2008 financial crisis, but this salary restructuring will certainly help," O'Brien said in a statement.