Palouse hikes pay offer in search for police officer

Garth Meyer, Gazette Reporter | Nov 23, 20170

The city of Palouse has increased the wage listing in its search for a new police officer.

Approved Nov. 14 as part of an overall city wage raise package for the 2018 budget, the new rate to be offered is $44,000 per year, up six percent. The new officer would join after the retirement of Joe Merry, whose last day is Nov. 28.

“I think they are being competitive,” said Palouse Police Chief Jerry Neumann, of the city council’s move. “We’re getting better. They want quality personnel. Palouse is a community that cares, and it shows.”

Palouse first advertised the job opening in September, receiving one qualified applicant who was interviewed but did not pass a background check.

“The pay is not what keeps you here; it’s the town,” said Neumann. “We have to start getting competitive. Towns that minimize police services, they’re cutting their own throats. You start minimizing community, because people won’t want to live there.”

He cites more than pay for reasons why the response to the Garfield-Palouse opening has been small.

“There’s a trend in hiring law enforcement: people don’t want to do it,” said Neumann. “To want to put up with a lot of the crap that’s going on now. People don’t want to get in that field... I’m concerned about where the industry is going. Where’s the people that want to be a police officer?”

Garfield contracts with Palouse for policing, so the new officer will work in both towns.

Reserve officer Terry Snead will serve in the interim after Merry retires.

The Palouse department seeks a person with a few years’ experience, as opposed to a new recruit.

“With an academy-type hire, it costs money to train and you don’t know their level of commitment to the job,” Neumann said.