(December 7)   Even as the city of San Bernardino’s petition for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection is being scrutinized by Federal Bankruptcy Court Judge Meredith Jury and the city of 209,924 has reduced its police department to a 258-member force, the city will continue to pay its remaining police officers wages that are competitive to those being provided to police officers in ten other cities of significant size  cities in California.
San Bernardino is paying its patrol and beat officers up to $85,272 per year, its detectives $97,296, its sergeants $110,280, its lieutenants $132,132, its captains $158,748, the assistant chief $193,152 and its police chief $237,300.
Pursuant to negotiations between city management and police management and police officers bargaining units carried out earlier this year before the municipality’s bankruptcy filing, an agreement was made to utilize an average of the pay provided to police management and officers in  Concord, Oxnard, Fontana, Palmdale, Irvine, Ventura, Lancaster, Santa Clarita, Norwalk and Thousand Oaks.
Beginning police officers start at a pay grade of $5,108 per month, and promote to $5,608 per month, $6,108 per month, $6,607 per month and top out at $7,106 per month. Detectives  start at $6,521 per month, move on to $6,923 per month, then receive $7,320 per month, $7,718 per month and a maximum of $8,108 per month. A sergeant starts at $7,385 per month, then receives $7,836 at the second step, $8,287 at the third step, $8,738 per month at the fourth step and graduates to a maximum of $9,190 per month. Lieutenants are paid a flat $11,011 per month. Captains receive a uniform $13,229 per month. The assistant chief is paid $16,096 per month. The police chief receives $19,775 per month.
The law enforcement trainee salary remains at $4,086 per month ($23.57 per hour), which is 80 percent of a rookie police officer’s salary.
While some critics of the city and its management team maintain the generous salaries paid to city employees including its police officers in large measure account for the city’s dire financial condition, others point out that with the attrition in the police department to 258 officers  and the shortage of personnel to patrol its mean streets, the salaries and benefits being provided to the police department employees are more than justified.