The New Orleans Police Department announced new pay increases on July 5, 2017. Since then, I have been approached with numerous questions about this pay plan. The following is my appreciation for the plan as it exists now. The plan has to go before the Civil Service Commission and the City Council for approval, but that seems like that won’t be a problem. During recent discussions of a proposed special rate of pay for Homicide Detectives, the FOP suggested that the NOPD needed to examine all special rates of pay and advocated for a bold pay initiative to help with recruitment and retention. This plan, which was put together by the NOPD’s Deputy Chief of Staff, is a step in the right direction. We made some additional suggestions and there are a few questions about this plan that remain unanswered. The following is the plan as it exists today. Salaries below do NOT include state pay or millage.
Police Recruit salaries will remain unchanged at $40,391.84. Our suggestion was that NOPD increase this and all other salaries by an additional 5% so new hires also benefit from the round of increases.
Police Officer I will become Police Officer and the base salary will increase to $46,885.00, a 10.45% increase.
Police Officer II, III, and IV will be consolidated as Senior Police Officer. The base salary for Senior Police Officer would be $51,783.84, a 16.08% increase over P/O II, 10.45% over P/O III, and 5.09% over P/O IV. Anyone who is a P/O II, III, or IV will automatically become a Senior P/O at the time the plan is implemented. The FOP is encouraging the department to allow P/O II promotions prior to the implementation of the plan to maximize the number of officers who are eligible to become Senior P/O.
A new classification titled Master Police Officer would have a base salary of $57,194.53. The Master Police Officer position would be unlike Senior Police Officer insofar as there will be a limited number of Master P/O positions available and the test will be a competitive test. Everyone who qualifies to be a Senior P/O will become a Senior P/O. Master P/O’s would be selected in much the same way Sergeants are selected now (which, frankly, is a mystery to me). Master P/O’s will be limited by assignment. For example, each district may have one Master P/O per platoon. Master P/O’s may also have some supervisory responsibility. There will probably not be an educational requirement for Master P/O.
Police Sergeant will have a base pay of $63,170.56. This represents an increase of 16.08%.
Police Sergeant will have a base pay of $69,771.01. This represents an increase of 19%.
Police Captain will be increased to $77,061.11, an increase of 10.45% and Police Major will be increased to $80,987.01, an increase of 6.41%. Of course, we are operating under the belief that there won’t be any new Captains or Majors any time soon.
The plan also includes 4 detective “positions.” Detective would be the effective equivalent of Senior Police Officer. Lead Detective will be the effective equivalent of Master Police Officer. Detective Sergeant would be the effective equivalent of Police Sergeant and District Detective Lieutenant would be the effective equivalent of Police Lieutenant.
I do not think that a decision has been made about whether the detective positions would be actual classifications, some type of sub-classification, or a special rate of pay. Based on the administration’s recent addition of unclassified commanders and an overall assessment of the department’s current philosophy about various positions, it is my belief that the department will want to be able to un-make a detective easily. In order to be able to un-make a detective easily, the detective’s positions has to either be a special rate of pay or some type of sub-classification. Any change of classification which results in a reduction in actual pay (not a special rate of pay) is a demotion. Demotions must be supported by cause expressed in writing and are disciplinary actions. It is my belief that the department wants to be able to make and un-make detectives much like they can make and un-make Commanders now. We will see how this shakes out, but I think we can count on detectives making 10% more than their effective equivalent. Of course, this is speculation.
So, the questions that remain are things like:
- How much time in grade will be required for Senior P/O? I believe the answer will end up being 3-4 years.
- How much time in grade will be required for Master P/O? I believe the answer will likely be the same as for Police Sergeant.
- Will the minimum requirements for Police Sergeant change? I don’t think so.
- How will the detective positions shake out? It may not be a true career path.
If there are questions, feel free to ask. I don’t know if I have the answer, but I will try. Also, any NOPD employees who have thoughts or suggestions about the foregoing, feel free to share. A copy of the proposal can be downloaded here (.pdf).
Signal 108 
So if this proposal is as you present it then a P.O. II and P.O. III will get a 16.08% and 10.45% respectively but a P.O. IV with exponentially more experience and time on the job will only get a 5.09% raise. Do you not see something wrong with this picture or is it just me. 5.09% is better than nothing but how is this fair and equitable?
I agree. It is inevitable that certain classifications are going to get more of a boost than others. It is a matter of available dollars and salary compression. The salaries have to be spaced out in such a way that they do not encroach on one another. Our suggestion was to increase all of the classifications by an additional 5%, including the salary for new hires. But, that won’t cure the problem you point out because the increase for P/O IV’s will never be as high as the increase for III’s or IV’s because of the math. Increasing IV’s at the same or greater percentage as the II’s and III’s would require an increase to sergeants and lieutenants that would make the whole plan overwhelmingly expensive.
I know that part of this was to help the retention issue and give veteran officers an incentive to stay so as to stop the bleeding but do they really think that basically giving the veterans “Lip Service” is going to make them stay. I don’t know the answer to that question myself. I am here for eight more years regardless just to get the kids out of High School whether I got the 5.09% or nothing.