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Insights Into Police Pay
Each year in January the annual list of the top 50 wage earners within the Town is posted and published in the local newspapers. This information, although public record and available at any time to any citizen, always raises a few eyebrows relative to the amount of earnings made by certain Town employees. My intent, through this memo is to share with you how the calculations are computed and what the numbers actually mean.
The Police Department salaries in the attached document are indicative of officer’s TOTAL earnings for the year. Base pay for a patrol officer working days is $50,993.38. This rate is set by agreement between the Town and the Union. That base pay is actually below the median pay for police officers in the greater Boston area, specifically north of Boston. Added on to that figure is their educational incentive plus any additional pay rates such as night differential. The most important piece of information is that police pensions are not computed on the total amount of earnings but only on the base pay. In other words, a patrol officer’s pension is based on the $50,993.38 plus the educational incentive. Therefore, a patrol officer’s pension based on $50, 993.38 without
his educational incentive would be $40,794 before taxes. Extra overtime or detail earnings do not increase an officers’ pension benefit.
This past summer, the Wakefield Police Department was eight officers short of the 43 men and women we had a year ago. Additionally, we had a number of officers out on long and short term leave for injuries and/or sickness. In order to keep the same or similar services available, and to ensure the safety of our citizens and our staff, we had to backfill these vacancies with overtime patrols. These backfills only brought us to the shift staffing minimum levels I deemed as safe. Nowhere in our staffing plans are there any “extra” officers available. Therefore, the annual salaries you see posted are inclusive of base salary, educational incentive, overtime and detail pay.
Our officers, like other citizens are forced, due to the economy, to work extra hours to support their families. The officers you see on the list are working sixty to seventy hours per week to earn these salaries. They are away from home more than they are home while at the same time trying to juggle family duties and provide them with enough rest to be effective on the job. By way of policy, our officers are restricted in the number of hours they can work consecutively and/or in a 24 hour period. These hours are regulated by agreement to ensure adequate rest and time with family, which I think is most important to the health and welfare of our employees.
The men and women of the Wakefield Police Department are hard working and dedicated individuals. They are dedicated to their community, peers and families. Sadly, due to the high cost of living, they must work long hours on weekends, at night and over holidays. I applaud them for their dedication and hard work while at the same time keeping themselves mentally and physically fit.
So as you review the salaries in the local papers, please take note of how much these officers endure for you to make and keep our community safe for you, your children and your friends and neighbors. As always, we thank you for your support.
Chief Rick Smith
2009 Town Wages - Top 50.pdf
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