Story posted Friday, March 12, 2010
Certifications Would Help Boost Police Employee Pay
By CRAIG ADAMS Journal & Topics Reporter
By adding an additional requirement, Rolling Meadows Police Chief Dave Scanlan got the rate of pay he wanted for employees while aldermen still agreed on face to a reduction.
At the city council meeting on Feb. 23, Scanlan asked for a new pay scale for two part-time employees needed by the police department.
He asked for a scale with a fifth step of $15 per hour. Many employee salaries in Rolling Meadows follow a five-step model with the final step being full salary; the other four steps start at 70% of salary and increase to 75%, 80%, and 90%.
At that meeting, aldermen unanimously rejected that proposal, lowering it to $12 per hour to match other part-time employees in the city.
On Tuesday, Mar. 9, Scanlan added a clause to the ordinance, allowing a rate of $15 per hour if the part-time employee is certified in either Illinois State Police LEADS/NCIC (Law Enforcement Agencies Data System/National Crime Information Center), or can be designated as the MDAC (Mobile Data Agency Coordinator) or LAC (LEADS Agency Coordinator).
"The individual we're trying to get would already have those certifications," Scanlan told aldermen. At the previous meeting, he explained he would try to hire back a full-time employee recently cut from the department.
Scanlan also explained an average person could not get those certifications without first being employed by a law enforcement agency or dispatch center.
Aldermen instructed him to continue to explore outsourcing options for the work then passed the new pay rate with the certification exception.
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