Police are bulking up the force

Financial incentives and other perks have nearly closed the gap on

Burbank’s shortfall of police officers, leaving only four positions

to fill.

Police Chief Thomas Hoefel reported to the City Council on Sept.

20 that the department recently hired two new officers -- one a

lateral transfer from the Los Angeles Police Department -- and has

only four vacancies to fill.

“We currently have a number of other officers in background check

at the recruit level and we have a lateral test at the end of the

month,” Hoefel said. “We are doing very well.”

The department, however, still has eight frozen officer positions

due to city budgetary restrictions. Those positions have been frozen

since 2003.

But police brass are pleased that the number of vacancies is less

than that of six months ago.

A good sign for the department is that more officers at other

departments are interested in coming to Burbank, said Burbank Police

Lt. David Gabriel.

“Lateral officers are much more aware of pay differences and

benefit differences,” Gabriel said. “They pick and choose where they

go.”

Two benefits to hiring officers from other cities are that the

department can review the applicants’ work at their current job and

they can be put on the street sooner because they do not have to

attend the police academy, Gabriel said.

“We are six months faster in getting them into a solo patrol

function,” Gabriel said.

Nine-year Los Angeles Police Department veteran Bryan Millner

starts work in Burbank today.

Some of the factors that sold him on Burbank were that the

department pays into his pension and pays for medical benefits,

Milner said.

“They’re starting me at the top [of the scale], which is nice

because a lot of places won’t do that,” Milner said. “The people

working in the department were very accommodating and encouraging. It

was a real easy choice to make when I got the job offer.”

The top monthly salary for a police officer is $5,919. That will

increase to $6,274 in 2006.

Like many police departments in Southern California, Burbank faces

a difficulty in recruitment due to a dwindling pool of applicants and

a salary range that was below what other departments offer.

In January, the city offered a $5,000 incentive for officers

transferring from another department, and $2,000 for new recruits.

Changes were also made the to the department’s cadet program to

attract applicants who were serious about a career in law enforcement

and who would remain with the department as full-time officers.

In July, the city and the Burbank Police Officers Assn. accepted a

two-year deal that included a 9% increase in pay the first year and a

6% increase the second year.

Two benefits came as a result of the new contract -- the pay raise

making department more competitive and keeping some officers who had

considered retiring this year to stay longer, Gabriel said.

QUESTION

What else could the Police Department do to recruit new officers?

E-mail your responses to o7burbankleader @latimes.comf7; mail them

to the Burbank Leader, 111 W. Wilson Ave., Glendale, CA 91203. Please

spell your name and include your address and phone number for

verification purposes only.

* MARK MADLER covers City Hall and the courts. He may be reached

at (818) 637-3242.