Money well spent

The Bingen-White Salmon Police Department can never get enough praise for the job it does with a small team of officers. It was simply unacceptable that for too many years the salaries of our local police officers have been well below what other communities similar in size to Bingen and White Salmon have been paying. Given that situation, it hasn't been any surprise that many officers have taken law enforcement jobs in Skamania County and elsewhere over the years -- given that the pay is significantly higher for essentially the same work.

This statistic, for example, was telling: Police officers getting started in White Salmon had been getting about $33,500 per year. Cross the White Salmon River into Skamania County, however, and the picture has been quite a bit different: starting salaries for Skamania County Sheriff's Office road deputies is $40,100.

Although Police Chief Bruce Brending's position was not covered in this pay increase, it nevertheless should serve to make his job as head of the Police Department easier: The new pay scale should make it easier for the department to retain its experienced officers, and to attract solid recruits.

We live in a relatively quiet community, but our police offices can never know when what seems like a "routine" call (of course, there is no such thing) can suddenly turn dangerous. Yet, from Police Chief Brending on down, they are out there for us every day, handling a dangerous job in a professional manner, and they deserve our full support.

The pay raise approved by the White Salmon City Council was an excellent way to demonstrate the community's appreciation for our police officers. Good move.

JB