Kent Police command staff, city reach three-year contract agreement

Kent Police command staff reached a new three-year contract agreement with the city of Kent for its nine employees.

City and police officials signed off last week on the contract that will pay assistant chiefs $123,336 and commanders $111,948 per year. The contract also includes cost-of-living increases each year that will range from 1 to 4 percent.

The bargaining unit of the Kent Police Officers Association, Assistant Chiefs and Commanders, includes three assistant chiefs and six commanders. The contract runs from 2016-2018.

“Overall, both groups are very pleased with the outcome of this latest contract,” said Leialani Jensen, city labor relations manager, in an email.

Jensen said changes to the contract were mainly about housekeeping language updates and also analyzing the comparable cities contracts with respect to the 2013-2015 agreement.

The comparable cities used for the latest contract included Auburn, Bellevue, Everett, Federal Way, Kirkland, Renton and Vancouver.

Assistant chiefs were paid salaries of $119,256 and commanders $108,240 in 2013 under the previous contract. Cost-of-living increases each year boosted those salaries to the current base-wage figures.

The contract also includes higher pay than the base salaries as determined by how many years employees have worked for Kent. The longevity pay includes a 2 percent hike after five years, 3 percent after 10 years, 4 percent after 15 years, 6 percent after 20 years, 7 percent after 25 years and 8 percent after 30 years.

City officials have yet to reach a contract agreement with the bargaining unit that represents police officers. Those negotiations continue.

Editor’s Note: This story has been corrected to accurately state the number of employees covered by the contract.