Pay Hike Too Small
Many Cops Say No To Sergeant Exam

By REUVEN BLAU

The rate of cops taking and passing the Sergeants' exam has continued to plummet, with only 255 officers out of the 3,866 applicants passing the Feb. 3 exam, based on preliminary results.

EDWARD D. MULLINS: Promotion not worth it.

Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly last week blamed the 6.5-percent passing rate on the reduced starting salary of $61,093 for new Sergeants, which is only $1,505 more than the $59,588 cops earn after 5-1/2 years of service.

Attrition on 2 Fronts

Mr. Kelly said that attrition bargaining has had a "significant impact" on the department's supervisory titles.

"All the raises have been compacted and they have been stretched out," Mr. Kelly told reporters last week. "So the desirability of moving ahead in the ranks has been impacted."

Sergeants' Benevolent Association President Edward D. Mullins said he was "surprised" and "saddened" by the latest figures. "People don't want to take the promotional test for two reasons," he asserted. "You are asking them for greater responsibility and you're not paying them for it."

RAYMOND W. KELLY: Short pay, short list.

The low pass rate is also the result of the department changing the passing score to 70 percent, contended Paul J. Browne, the NYPD's chief spokesman. "Before that, the department promoted as many as it wanted, dipping down into the low 60s grades," he said in an e-mail.

'Money Matters'

But he added, "The principal problem is the money. There's not enough of a difference between what an eligible Police Officer makes and what a Sergeant gets."

Captains' Endowment President John J. Driscoll said the test figures - which have not been finalized by the Department of Citywide Administrative Services - show that the city has a "serious problem."

Fewer Passing Grades

The NYPD appoints roughly 500 to 600 Sergeants each year. Asked if the upcoming list will generate enough eligibles to fill projected vacancies, Mr. Kelly responded, "We'll give another test, that's what we'll do." He added, "I'd like a bigger pool, but we'll give another test."

But a new exam would eliminate cops on the new list who are waiting to obtain the required five years of job experience, Mr. Driscoll pointed out. "As soon as a new list is out, the old list is dead by law," he explained. "What happens to the poor kid who was motivated? He'll have to take the next test and hopefully pass that one."

The overall number of officers who apply and pass the Sergeants' test has steadily dropped over the past several years. Only 13 percent of the 4,934 officers who took the 2006 Sergeant exam passed it. That figure was down from the 1,729 out of the 7,196 officers, or 24 percent, who passed the 2003 exam.

"Years ago, everybody took every promotion test," Mr. Driscoll noted. "I am totally amazed at how few Police Officers actually take the test now. It tells you you have a totally demoralized work force when they don't want to take the next promotion to get ahead."

'Not Worth Studying'

Mr. Mullins pointed out that 9,600 officers applied for the Sergeant test when he took the exam in 1978. "Everybody studied for the Sergeants' test," he recalled. "Today, nobody wants to study for the Sergeants' test."

Joseph Pollini, an Assistant Professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, has said that more officers are seeking promotion to Detective. "They get Sergeants' pay at Second Grade and Lieutenants' pay at First Grade and have no supervisor responsibilities," he noted last year. "More and more people are looking for the more-comfortable position."

Mr. Pollini also pointed to the drastically reduced starting salary as a key reason why officers decided against seeking the promotion. "If they are not motivated, they are going to be studying less," he said.

In the fall of 2005, the SBA reached a deal with the city that provided 10.25 percent in raises over 24 months. But part of that deal was financed by freezing the starting salary and reducing pay until the final rung of the progression for future Sergeants.

Starting Salary Slashed

The first two years of that round of bargaining were shaped by the pattern set by the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association's attrition-based arbitration award in June 2005.

A significant portion of the city's costs from wage hikes for the PBA was offset by the reduction in the pay scale for future hires. But because savings to the city are greater under the PBA deal due to the higher attrition rate among cops, the Bloomberg administration demanded additional savings from the SBA and other smaller unions with more stable work forces to even out its costs.

Mayor Bloomberg has maintained that the wage model for uniformed employees was set for the round of bargaining at issue in the SBA dispute in the fall of 2005 by the UFA's 50-month deal, which provided raises of 3 percent and 3.15 percent in its last 26 months. The earlier part of that deal replicated the two 5-percent raises the PBA won in arbitration in June 2005 for a two-year period.

Raises Below Inflation?

City negotiators contend that the later UFA raises, if accepted by the SBA, would significantly increase the starting salary for new Sergeants. But the SBA has rejected those deals, contending that they don't keep pace with the rising cost of inflation.

"I don't know how you offer raises when they are below cost of living." Mr. Mullins asked. "I'm amazed at the other unions."

He added, "It's very simple: if you want to solve this problem, settle this contract. And you will see people sign up to take this test like never before."