Cornell City Council; Pay adjustments in works to attract part-time officers

By Julia Wolf

What can be done to get, and keep, part-time police offi cers? That was the question the Cornell City Council discussed, during a special meeting/Finance Committee meeting June 23.

Cornell Police Chief Glenn Rehberg says the department uses part-time officers to cover gaps in the schedule. He says officer recruitment is difficult right now, and has always been more difficult for part-time officers, since most want a full-time job.

“Cornell, from talking to the previous chief, has historically been a training ground for part-time officers, as they move on to full-time jobs,” said Rehberg.

He says the biggest issue right now, is that Cornell is not even getting many applicants to apply for the positions, and many who do apply, are not a good fit for the city.

Rehberg says he thinks Cornell has a lot to offer part-time officers, and says if he can get applicants in the door for an interview, he can explain how the department works.

Rehberg proposed changing the flat part-time rate of $17.58 per hour, to a scale based on experience, and provided a comparison of surrounding departments, showing Cornell is paying less than others nearby. He proposed a plan that would break the $20 barrier.

“I’m also sensitive to the fact that the city has limited resources,” said Rehberg, adding he wants to make the positions more attractive for everyone, but keep costs in check.

He says most part-time officers stay with the department for about six months, before moving on.

Rehberg used the past two years of records, to show the cost of training an officer in for solo patrol. When combining the training pay and the solo patrol pay, it comes to $37.48 per hour, of solo patrol cost.

“That was our cost to put them on the street,” said Rehberg.

Rehberg pointed out that the training cost for more experienced officers was significantly lower, because they only had to get used to Cornell’s system, not policing in general.

“So, what I want to try to do, is increase retention across the board, but especially for the experienced officers,” said Rehberg.

Rehberg says advertising a $20 rate would get more applicants. To balance the $20 rate, Rehberg suggested there be a separate pay rate for those who are fresh out of recruit academy. Under his plan, they would be paid $15 per hour, while they undergo training. When they are ready for solo patrol, they would get $20 per hour.

He says most part-time officers over the past two years, have worked about the same number of training hours as solo patrol hours. Rehberg says, if you average out the $15 training rate and the $20 solo patrol rate, it comes to $17.50 per hour, which is about what part-timers are being paid currently.

Rehberg says, if a part-time officer stays longer than six months, the training costs balance out. If they leave sooner, there is less financial investment in their training.

“But by being able to advertise the $20 rate, I hope to get more applicants in the door, than we are now,” said Rehberg.

There was also a second part to Rehberg’s proposal. He suggested officers who bring a year or more (2,080 hours) of solo patrol experience, get a pay bump to $23 per hour.

“Which is the same rate that we pay our full-time patrol officers,” said Rehberg.

He says his reasoning, is that, even with a higher pay rate, an officer with experience is much cheaper than someone they have to train from scratch.

Steve Turany, council member, asked how Rehberg thought the full-time officers would react to the experienced part-timers being paid the same hourly rate as them. Rehberg noted the part-time officers would not get benefits like the full-time.

“Part of that is, we’re asking our part-time officers to do the exact same things we’re asking our full-time officers to do,” said Rehberg. “They have the same responsibility. They have the same requirements. They have the same obligations.”

Rehberg says the pay scale will not be a magic fix for the department, but says he thinks it might help with recruitment and retention.

Council member Ashley Carothers also pointed out retention can help build community trust, as the faces become more recognizable.

Other members agreed the plan sounds good, with plans to bring the pay scale to the next regular meeting, for approval.

Members also acted on the Compliance Maintenance Annual Report of the operation of the Wastewater Treatment Plant, during the meeting. The annual resolution adopts the report that shows the grading for how effectively the wastewater treatment plant is operating. The action came after the item did not make the agenda for the last regular meeting.

“This does need to be acted on before the end of June,” said Dave DeJongh, city administrator.

He says the areas that showed as deficient, were mostly from when the RBC went down in 2020.