Stanfield Police Chief Bryon Zumwalt is tired of training officers only to have them snatched away by larger police departments that offer better pay.

According to Zumwalt, it is expensive and bad for the community. The issue came up in a budget hearing during Stanfield’s City Council meeting June 7.

I’m very accustomed to not getting a cost of living increase. I’m fine with that,  Zumwalt said in an interview following a heated discussion on the city’s proposed budget  the night before. I’ve got to fight for the officers.

At issue is a proposed three-percent pay increase for Stanfield city employees that sparked debate among city council members during the  meeting.

I don’t think we can afford to give pay raises, council member Jack Huxoll said.

For Zumwalt, a raise for current Stanfield police officers could mean he won’t have to retrain another one for a little while longer.

We’re just trying to maintain our staff, Zumwalt said. I don’t like retraining officers all the time.

Huxoll said part of his concern was the loss of revenue from recent negotiations with Pilot Corp. that resulted in a net loss of approximately $14,000 per month.

Additionally, Huxoll pointed out,  the city needs to put more money into replanting the city’s portion of the Highway 395 median strip.

Council members Pam McSpadden and Chuck Gaede proposed pay increases apportioned on an individual basis, while Lynn Weathermon argued in favor of the three-percent increase.

There’s other places people could tighten their belts, Weathermon said. I think we need to do the raise.

City Manager Scott Pingel said  the city is not always able to provide pay increases, but argued they are needed, especially when the city budget allows.

This year it did fit, so I proposed a raise, Pingel said.

Since taking a job as a police officer in Stanfield in 1999, Zumwalt has seen more than a little turnover in the  department. Several years ago Stanfield lost an officer to another county very shortly after the officer graduated from the police academy.

His ink wasn’t even dry on his certification, and Yamhill picked him up, Zumwalt said.

According to Zumwalt, it is common practice for larger departments to pick up freshly graduated officers because it saves training costs.

It wasn’t uncommon for recruiting to be going on at academy, Zumwalt said.

According to Zumwalt, the city can’t afford, typically, to hire certificated police officers because Stanfield has a small police force with a limited budget. That means having to hire untrained personnel and then pay them to attend the Oregon Department of Public Safety and Standards Training Academy.

To lose (an officer) after all that training felt like just a waste of resources. Limited resources, Zumwalt said.

More than just money down the drain, Zumwalt said constantly retraining officers is hard on both the community and the police force.

It is very beneficial for the senior officers to know the citizens and to know the community, Zumwalt said, adding that trust between officers and citizens is very important. The people, of course, get comfortable with police officers they’re used to.

According to Zumwalt,   rookie officers have more trouble than a long-term officer would, in large part because people test their boundaries, or don’t think the officer knows what he or she is doing.

Zumwalt said it usually takes two years for an officer to really get comfortable in the community.

That’s just when we lose them, Zumwalt said.

According to Zumwalt and Pingel, the current down economy and layoffs in other large departments has helped with officer retention. A raise could help further.

If we can be even somewhat competitive, it is enticing to work in a small department, Pingel said.

The proposed salary increase would bump total salary expenditures for the city from $436,475 to $443,606. According to Pingel, the city is party able to afford the increase due to savings from a retiring maintenance supervisor and cutting a seasonal parks position.

The proposed increase includes three merit-based raises above the cost of living increase for a police sergeant, sewer operator and court clerk.

The council will vote on implementing the proposed pay raise, as well as other budget expenditures for 2011-2012, during a regularly scheduled council meeting July 5.