However, a rookie police officer only gets 8.25 percent more under this meet and confer agreement than that same officer would have received under the Civil Service Step Plan initiated in 2014. A fifth-year officer gets a 15.29 percent hike.
The new agreement also calls for an outside professional consultant to conduct a comprehensive review "all aspects of the police department operations" at some unspecified point during the next three years. The goal of the audit, according to the agreement, is "the betterment of the agency."
The salaries of those in the higher ranks don’t fare quite as well, percentage-wise, under the new agreement. While that sergeant in his fifth year gets a 24.17 percent bump, a fifth-year lieutenant’s salary is increased 15.41 percent under the agreement and a fifth-year captain sees 7.65 percent more on his or her pay check.
One of the goals on both sides of the meet-and-confer negotiations was to make Kyle police officer salaries "more competitive" with those in nearby communities. As it turns out, the agreement agreed to last week make Kyle officers’ salaries more attractive than those in San Marcos. The annual salary for a first year officer in Kyle is $1,500 more than it is in San Marcos ($48,000 to $46,500). And if I understand this document correctly, figuring in "longevity pay," the amount a seventh-year sergeant could make in San Marcos is $78,752 compared to $81,111 in Kyle.
The new agreement gives, for the first time, credit for military service in the police hiring process, specifically to "an applicant with a passing score of 70 or better who has served a minimum of two years of active military service with an honorable discharge from the United States armed forces."
There is no change in vacations — three weeks a year — from the previous agreement.
The new agreement also contains a section calling for what is essentially a $20,000 operations audit of the Police Department at an unspecified date during the next three years:
"During the term of this agreement a police department operational review will be conducted," according to Section 9.01 of the just agreed-upon contract. "A consultant will be selected by an Operational Review Committee. The committee will consist of five members: Two members of the Kyle Police Association, one of which cannot be a member of the KPA executive board; one member of the Police Department Command Staff, selected by the chief of police; one member of the local civil service commission agreed upon by KPA and the civil service director; and one member of the city administration, selected by the city manager. The city agrees to pay up to $20,000 for the operational review.
"The consultant will review all aspects of the police department operations. The consultant will have the opportunity to interview each member of the department and any city staff selected by the consultant. The content of those interviews will be private. Any specific information gathered from those interviews will be presented anonymously.
"The recommendations made by the consultant will be reviewed by the Operational Review Committee to decide which will be implemented. Any recommendation having a financial impact that will require a budget amendment … will require city council approval. Both the city and the (Kyle Police) Association enter into this agreement with the intent to support this process for the betterment of the agency."
The agreement, like the prior meet-and-confer document, is valid for three years although I have heard that the KPA was pressing for a two-year document. However, three and even sometimes four-year meet-and-confer agreements are the norm in most communities.
Examples of the old and new police pay:
|
Step/Rank
|
Year One
|
Year Five
|
|
Police Officer 2014
|
$44,338
|
$48,941
|
|
Police Officer 2016
|
$48,000
|
$56,424
|
|
Sergeant 2014
|
$59,459
|
$62,175
|
| Sergeant 2016 |
$71,325
|
$77,205
|
|
Lieutenant 2014
|
$65,609
|
$73,843
|
| Lieutenant 2016 |
$83,544
|
$85,223
|
|
Captain 2014
|
$77,911
|
$84,833
|
| Captain 2016 |
$87,779
|
$91,362
|
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