MATTAWA - Incentive pay has replaced merit pay as a way of gaining raises for officers in the Mattawa Police Department.

The change was made recently by the Mattawa City Council at the request of Police Chief John Turley. He doesn't believe that someone should receive or not receive a raise based on someone else's opinion of that person's service.

"I have found over the years this is a better formula for compensation than merit pay," Turley said. "Merit pay is problematic in that can lead to jealousy among employees and oftentimes creates unresolved issues between those employees."

"Incentive pay, on the other hand, is entirely independent and is at the discretion of the employee," Turley added.

Turley told the council that incentive pay attracts better candidates and encourages officers to extended their stay within the Mattawa Police Department. It also encourages them to improve themselves educationally.

From now on Mattawa officers will be given raises for such things as degrees, language skills and longevity. An associate's degree will mean $50 per month, a bachelor of arts or bachelor of science degree will mean $65 per month, and a master's degree will mean $85 per month.

The biggest incentive of all will be the ability to speak Spanish. That will bring an officer an extra $200 per month.

After five years of service, an officer will receive longevity pay of $60 per month.

Ten years will bring $120, 15 years will bring $180, 20 years will bring $240, and 25 years will bring $300.

This does not mean officers will have to wait five years to get raises. According to Turley, there will be yearly cost-of-living increases as needed and as determined by the city council and the mayor.

"Creating a base salary with incentives will be much easier to budget and more fair to both the city and the employee," Turley said.