Res. No. 1304

Resolution denouncing the current starting salaries for police officers of the New York City Police Department.

By Council Members Gerson, Avella, Brewer, Fidler, Gentile, James, Liu, Sanders Jr., Stewart, Weprin, White Jr. and Ignizio

Whereas, The New York City Police Department (NYPD) currently has over thirty-five thousand uniformed police officers serving and protecting

New York City; and

Whereas, By all accounts, the NYPD has fought tenaciously to lower major felony crimes citywide and to decrease New York City’s 2007 homicide rate to a historic low; and

Whereas, According to the Department of Homeland Security, New York City is the number one risk locality for a terrorist attack in the U.S.; and

                     Whereas, New York City police officers continue to work to combat crime while facing the additional daily challenge of protecting the City from the threat of terrorism; and

                     Whereas, New York City police officers’ base salary is among the lowest in the country, while other U.S. cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Newark, and Yonkers pay their first year police officers more than New York City’s first year police officers; and

                     Whereas, According to The New York Times, the NYPD is losing experienced police officers to other jurisdictions, such as Nassau and Suffolk Counties, that offer substantially higher salaries; and

                     Whereas, The retention crisis in the NYPD has resulted in the resignations of 3,215 police officers over the past four years and a resignation rate of 14.6 percent of police academy recruits in January 2007 compared to 5.7 percent in January 2005; and

                     Whereas, The NYPD has fallen short of its staffing target by an excess of 2,000 candidates for the July 2007 recruiting class; and

                     Whereas, The number of authorized uniformed personnel in the NYPD has been reduced by over twelve percent since Fiscal Year 2000, leaving fewer police officers to serve and protect New York City; and

                     Whereas, The NYPD’s recruitment process and retention crises pose a serious public safety concern; and

                     Whereas, Pattern bargaining, the practice that often requires all unions to receive the same wage increase, has failed to maintain the City’s historic edge in recruitment and officer retention in the NYPD; and

                     Whereas, Pattern bargaining should not limit the City or arbitrators in their ability to provide compensation to municipal employees that best serves the needs of the City; and

                     Whereas, New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, along with the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, called for an end to pattern bargaining for police officers, asserting that pattern bargaining is the main reason the City’s police salaries remain far below suburban police salaries; and

                     Whereas, Commissioner Raymond Kelly testified before the New York City Council’s Committees on Finance and Public Safety to voice his concern over the NYPD’s inability to match the top pay of other area departments, including the Port Authority Police; and

                     Whereas, The Administration and the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association should bargain in good faith to swiftly reach agreement on a salary schedule which restores New York City to competitive parity with surrounding areas for recruitment and retention of police officers; and

                     Whereas, The current starting salary for an NYPD police officer is $25,100; and

                     Whereas, New York City’s Finest merit starting salaries that accurately reflect their commitment, sacrifice, and dedication to the people and City of New York and that will help to end the current recruitment and retention crisis; now, therefore, be it

                     Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York denounces the current starting salaries for police officers of the New York City Police Department.

WJH

LS# 4087

1/17/08