(a) Salary upon Initial Appointment and Salary Progression. Initial appointment in the police or fire services shall be at the first step of Schedule 1 except as hereinafter provided.
(1) Any person initially appointed to any position in the class of Firefighter or Police Officer, who has completed 60 semester units (or 90 quarter units) of credit from an accredited college or university pertinent to the occupation involved, upon recommendation of the appointing authority and approval of the General Manager of the Personnel Department, shall receive salary at the second step of the salary range for Schedule 1 in the appropriate MOU.
(2) Any person initially appointed to any position in the class of Police Officer who has obtained a pertinent bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university, upon recommendation of the Chief of Police and approval of the General Manager of the Personnel Department, shall receive salary at the third step of the salary range for Schedule 1 in MOU No. 24.
(3) Any person initially appointed to any position in the classes of Firefighter or Police Officer, who has had acceptable service in the fire or police department of another public agency, or who is reappointed to said classes and has had previous acceptable service as a member of the Police or Fire Departments, shall receive a salary at a step rate of Schedule 1 determined in accordance with the foregoing paragraphs plus one step for each two years of such service, but not higher than the fourth step of Schedule 1. In addition, any person initially appointed to any position in the class of Police Officer, who has had active military service resulting in honorable discharge, shall receive a salary at a step rate of Schedule 1 determined in accordance with the foregoing paragraphs plus one step for each two years of that service, but not higher than the fourth step of Schedule 1. To be acceptable, such service must be approved by the General Manager of the Personnel Department.
(4) Every Firefighter or Police Officer who completes six months or more service shall, at the beginning of the pay period immediately following such completion, be advanced in pay to the next higher step in the range for Schedule 1. Thereafter advancements in salary shall be made automatically step by step after each year of aggregate active service in the class and pay grade in which the member is employed to the maximum step rate within the salary schedule prescribed for his/her class and pay grade, subject to the provisions of Subsection (e) of this section.
(5) Except as provided in Subdivision (4) of this subsection, advancement in the salary rate of a member shall be made automatically after one year of aggregate active service at each step rate until he/she receives salary at the maximum step rate within the salary schedule prescribed for his/her class and pay grade, subject to the provisions of Subsections (e) and (f) of this section.
(6) The salary upon initial appointment and salary progression for the class of Police Specialist shall be the same as Police Officer set forth above. In exceptional cases, upon request from the Chief of Police, the Director of the Office of Administrative and Research Services may approve advance step hiring upon demonstrated need and qualifications of the individual.
(b) Salary Advancement upon Promotion or Assignment to Higher Pay Grade. Any member of the Police or Fire Departments promoted to a higher class or assigned to a higher pay grade within the class to which he/she was appointed shall be advanced to the lowest rate of the salary schedule for the higher class or pay grade, or the rate of compensation next higher to that received by him/her prior to such promotion, whichever is the greater. If the member is entitled to a step advance pursuant to Subdivision (5) of Subsection (a) of this section on the same day as such promotion or assignment, the step advancement shall be considered to have occurred prior to such promotion or assignment. Provided, however, that if such person prior to promotion or assignment is receiving special or hazard pay as provided in Subsection (g) of this section, his/her salary rate prior to promotion or assignment shall be deemed to be the rate which he/she would be receiving in the absence of such salary premium.
(c) Salary Rate upon Assignment to a Lower Job Class. Any member of the Police or Fire Departments reassigned to a lower pay grade within the class of position to which he/she was appointed shall receive the same compensation received by him/her prior to such reassignment, or be compensated at the top step of the schedule for the lowest pay grade, whichever is lower.
(d) Salary Rate upon Lateral Transfer. Whenever any member of the Fire Department or Police Department is appointed to or displaces in a position in the same department in a different class and pay grade having the same salary schedule he/she shall be entitled to receive in the position to which he/she is appointed or in which he/she displaces, the same rate of compensation that he/she was receiving prior to such appointment or displacement less special hazard and longevity pay, unless he/she is entitled to receive such pay by applicable provision of this article in his/her new position.
Any member in the class of Police Specialist who successfully completes 18 months of service in that class, shall then be moved into the class of Police Officer under Charter Section 1014. Upon appointment to the class of Police Officer, such member shall be placed in the same step as occupied in the previous class.
(e) Merit Pay Step in Schedules 1 through 10. Receipt of salary at the maximum or at the fifth step in Schedules 1 through 10 is a privilege to be earned and retained on the basis of merit, and not a right. No member of the Fire Department or Police Department in a position compensated at Schedules 1 through 10 may receive salary at the fifth step [including advancement pursuant to Section 4.159 (a) (4)] until the Chief Administrative Officer of his department, or the person designated by the officer, certifies to the Controller that the member has completed the required period of service in his class and further certifies either: (1) that he finds the member’s standard of service to be satisfactory; or (2) that three departmental deputy chiefs, sitting as a board of review, finds his standard of service to be satisfactory. Any such designation shall be made in writing to the Controller. A member being compensated at the fifth step shall receive an initial salary increase on promotion or assignment to a higher pay grade without the necessity for further certification. If at any time the standard of service of a member who is receiving salary at the fifth step is unsatisfactory as confirmed by three departmental deputy chiefs, sitting as a board of review, the Chief Administrative Officer of his department may so certify to the Controller, and in that event the salary of such member shall revert from the fifth step to the fourth step and he shall not again be advanced to the fifth step unless and until the Chief Administrative Officer certifies that, in his opinion, or in the opinion of three deputy chiefs, sitting as a board of review, such member has achieved a satisfactory standard of service. Whenever the Chief Administrative Officer finds that a member’s standard of service is unsatisfactory and for that reason the member is denied advancement to the fifth step, or is faced with reversion to the fourth step, such finding must be confirmed by three departmental deputy chiefs, sitting as a board of review.
The Chief Administrative Officer of the department may, in his discretion and without concurrence of three departmental deputy chiefs, certify that a member’s standard of service is satisfactory, but he may not certify that a member’s standard of service is unsatisfactory without the concurrence of the three departmental deputy chiefs.
(f) Merit Pay Steps in Schedules 11 through 24. Receipt of salary at the fifth, sixth, and seventh steps in Schedules 11 through 24 is a privilege to be earned and retained on the basis of merit and not a right. No member of the Fire Department or Police Department in a position compensated at Schedules 11 through 24 may receive salary above the fourth step until the Chief Administrative Officer of his department certifies to the Controller that the member has completed services at that level as ascertained by an approved evaluation procedure, and for that minimum period as is required by the following table:
TABLE 11
(Repealed by Ord. No. 174,415, Eff. 2-5-02)
(g) Special Salary Provisions.
SECTION HISTORY
Based on Ord. No. 89,935.
Amended by: Ord. No. 132,519; Ord. No. 138,851, Eff. 7-1-69; Ord. No. 139,900, Eff. 2-3-70; Ord. No. 140,656, Eff. 7-30-70; Ord. No. 141,416, Eff. 12-30-70, Oper. 1-1-71; Subsecs. (e), (f), Ord. No. 141,435, Eff. 1-7-71; Subsec. (g), Ord. No. 141,932, Eff. 5-10-71; Subsec. (g), Ord. No. 142,490, Eff. 10-15-71; Subsec. (g), Ord. No. 142,817, Eff. 12-16-71; Subsec. (f), Ord. No. 142,860, Eff. 12-31-71; Subsec. (g), Ord. No. 143,380, Eff. 5-18-72; Subdiv. (3) added to Subsec. (g), Ord. No. 143,600, Eff. 6-29-72, Oper. 7-1-72; Subsec. (g), Ord. No. 144,347 Eff. 2-12-73; Subsec. (g), Ord. No. 144,024, Eff. 10-26-72; Subsec. (g) amended by Ord. No. 145,182, Eff. 10-17-73; Subsec. (g), amended by Ord. No. 145,779, Eff. 4-10-74; Subsec. (g) amended by Ord. No. 145,928, Eff. 5-13-74; Subsec. (g), Subdiv. (1), Part A and Part B amended by Ord. No. 147,611, Eff. 8-20-75; Subsec. (f) last para. Ord. No. 148,210, Eff. 4-9-76; Subsec. (g) Subdiv. (1), Part A, Subpart (f) added by Ord. No. 149,272, Eff. 2-4-77; Subsec. (e), Ord. No. 153,943, Eff. 6-18-80; Subsec. (b) adds sentence, Ord. No. 155,363, Eff. 7-10-81, Oper. 1-1-80; Subsecs. (g)(2)B(d), (g)(2)B(e), Ord. No. 155,732, Eff. 9-14-81, Oper. 7-1-79; Subsec. (a)(3), Ord. No. 155,930, Eff. 11-15-81; Subsec. (h), added, Ord. No. 158,352, Eff. 9-23-83, Oper. 7-1-83; Subsec. (i), added, Ord. No. 159,659, Eff. 2-15-85, Subsecs. (a), (b), (c) and (d) by Ord. No. 169,092, Eff. 10-19-93; Subsec. (d), second para. added, Ord. No. 169,092, Eff. 10-19-93; Ord. No. 173,308, Eff. 6-30-00, Oper. 7-1-00; Subsecs. (g)(2) to (g)(3)(i) repealed by Ord. No. 173,512, Eff. 9-26-00, Oper. 7-1-00; Subsec. (g)(1) repealed in entirety by Ord. No. 174,362, Eff. 12-13-01; Subsecs. (b) and (f), Ord. No. 174,415, Eff. 2-5-02; Subsec. (a)(3), second sentence added, Ord. No. 178,552, Eff. 4-6-07.