Mount Vernon has increased the salary in its police chief job hunt after two candidates sought higher paying positions.
Current Chief Chris Cammock, who pushed back his date of retirement amid the hiring delay, will remain in the position until a new chief has been chosen to provide onboarding and orientation services, possibly until May 1, he said.
The position’s previous salary was $144,288 to $189,873. Mount Vernon City Council decided on Wednesday, Feb. 14 to approve an ordinance that increased it to a range of $159,077 to $209,335.
The position had limited applicants and the top candidate for the position withdrew his application after receiving the job offer, Mount Vernon Human Recourses Director Erin Keator said at the Wednesday city council meeting.
This indicates that salary was the issue, she said.
“We’ve reviewed the police chief salaries for comparable and competitive jurisdictions and found that the range was below market,” Keator said at the meeting.
Mount Vernon Mayor Peter Donovan agrees the salary range was a factor in losing candidates.
Selah Police Chief Daniel Christman was a finalist in the search but withdrew his name before the final interviews. Yakima Police Department Captain Shawn Boyle was given an offer from the city but is pursuing another position elsewhere, Donovan said.
Christman is now a finalist for the chief of police position in Richland, Benton County.
Richland does not publish the exact salaries of employees, but the budgeted range for the chief of police in 2023 was $146,000 to $204,000.
“When you look at the cost of living in Western Washington, it steadily increased and our city director- level wages just haven’t kept up,” Donovan said.
The cost of living in Washington state is 16% higher than the U.S. average, and housing is 28% higher.
Bellingham Police Chief Rebecca Mertzig, who began the job in June of 2022, earns a salary of $196,884.
“To create a competitive compensation package, we’re recommending that we adjust the salary range,” Keator said to the city council.
The ordinance also included the implementation of a 3% deferred compensation match to a city sponsored 457 plan. This plan allows employees to opt into having a portion of their paychecks automatically invested, pre-tax, with the possibility of penalty-free withdrawals after employees leave their positions. The current represented staff in the police department have this plan already, Keator said.
The past few police chiefs were hired internally, including Chief Cammock, but the lieutenants serving now are either near retirement or do not feel they have enough experience to apply for the head role. Cammock has been with the Mount Vernon Police Department for 35 years and has been serving as the chief of police since 2020.
Donovan said he is proud of the culture within the police department, where police officers carry themselves with integrity and transparency.
“I’ve heard in regional circles [Mount Vernon is] a very good department to work for,” Donovan said.
But if candidates won’t be able to afford their way of life, “the culture is sort of secondary to that,” he added.
The job position was closed Jan. 1 and will be re-opened by the end of the business day Friday, Feb. 16, if not sooner.
After applications for the position are reviewed, stand-out candidates are interviewed by a panel made up of a city council member, community members and city staff. The mayor himself then interviews the candidates, searching for individuals with experience and character, and who fit well within the police department’s culture, Donovan said.
At the end of the process, candidates engage in a community meet and greet.
“Growing up in this department, it’s always been a community-centric policing philosophy,” Cammock said.
The department has 50 citizen volunteers, and this year will have 700 graduates from its Citizens Academy, Cammock said. The 12-week program allows residents to learn what it’s like to work for the police department and how they can be involved.
“We look for people that share those personal values,” Cammock said.
