Sitka’s police officers are getting a pay hike. When the Sitka Assembly met at the end of February (2-25-25) it approved a new pay scale as part of a one-year contract extension with the union that represents the police department.

Municipal administrator John Leach said it was a big step after a long list of efforts to hire more police officers for the understaffed department, and it’s something cities around the country are struggling with.  

“You know, recruiting and retention is a challenge everywhere in law enforcement, and we’ve tried sign on bonuses. We’ve tried premium pays for for short staffing, you know, lots of other solutions that other communities have tried to and they’re seeing similar results as well,” Leach said. “So we took a big step and said, ‘You know what, what is out there in the rest of Alaska, and how can we do better, and how can we be leading the charge in that world?'”

On the new pay scale, a patrol officer with one-year of experience starting at Step A would make $41 an hour, up from around $34, a 19.5% increase. The new plan would also establish a “police officer recruit position” for new hires. An entry level officer with no experience would make just over $31 dollars an hour. After a 12-month probationary period, they’d get bumped to Step A. Other positions within the department will see salary increases too, at varied rates.

Mayor Steven Eisenbeisz said a similar plan to recruit linemen for the electric department was successful. He hoped to see the same results with the police department. 

“Obviously, the lack of regular officers that we have at the police department is a cause for concern. I think this will go a long way in recruiting and retaining, hopefully retaining the ones we have, and getting a few more on board,” Eisenbeisz said. “So I’m excited to see that.”

The pay increases won’t require the assembly to pony up more money for the salaries until fiscal year 26. Leach’s memo to the assembly says that due to low staffing, the police department has only spent 36 percent of its current salary budget for this year. Even if they fill all vacant positions at the new rate, they won’t reach the ceiling before the end of this fiscal year.

The assembly approved the pay scale increase unanimously.