BROKEN ARROW - To Sgt. Keith Cook, the Broken Arrow Police Department's 127 sworn officers' daily contributions toward the city's safety are worth every penny.
"We are the safest city in Oklahoma. It's probably not by chance that we're that way, especially bordering Tulsa," Cook said during a recent ridealong with the Tulsa World. "(The designation) is based on our UCR (uniform crime report) statistics. Our officers have a lot to do with that."
Cook has been in a Broken Arrow police officer uniform for the past 16 years, and he recently received a promotion to sergeant after a five-year stint with the crime scene unit and 10 years working traffic patrols.
Recently, he served in all three capacities, from issuing a traffic ticket to assisting ambulance personnel with a domestic violence call involving a possible stabbing, a scene he helped investigate. Despite the new increases in responsibility and readjustment to shift work, Cook said he enjoys representing the department well for Broken Arrow's residents.
"I was in the Marine Corps. before this, and I pretty much enjoyed that military-type atmosphere and wanted to do something career-wise that was similar to that," Cook said. "We have a reputation, I think, across not only the good guys but the bad guys as well, that if you come here and you're doing bad stuff, you're gonna get caught. And our citizens, I think, pretty much expect us to set an example."
A Tulsa World survey found that Broken Arrow tops the list of area suburban police departments in average annual salary.
Broken Arrow pays its police an average base wage of $64,176, according to a Tulsa World payroll survey. Cook, who joined the force in 1997, makes $72,592 annually, the middle of three base salaries for Broken Arrow's 18 police sergeants. Two sergeants hired in 2000 and 2002 make $75,713 annually, records show.
Broken Arrow Police Maj. Mark Irwin said city officials and a police union complete a comparative analysis with similar cities in terms of population and geographic size when determining wages. He believes the Broken Arrow officers' salaries stack up well against their counterparts.
"It's hard to compare a city of our size to a Coweta or a Bixby ... we compare ourselves to a Norman or an Edmond, someone who has the same size agency, the same size population we serve and the same kind of tax base," Irwin said. "I think, relatively speaking, that we are paid on a very fair basis. I've been here for 19 years, and we've experienced exponential growth in population, business growth and community development, infrastructure ... it's all a matter of tax base and expenditures."
Among fire departments, Owasso ranks No. 1 in average base pay at $64,417 per year, according to the World survey. The high ranking may be somewhat misleading in that the city includes in its base pay additional payments based on education, certifications and time on the job, city of Owasso spokeswoman Chelsea Levo said.
The high pay ranking is due in part to 90 percent of Owasso firefighters being certified paramedics, city officials said.
The top average pay designation may be due to about one-third of the Owasso fire department being on the job for at least 10 years and having topped out on the pay scale, Levo said.
By comparison, the city of Tulsa average pay for police was $63,199, according to a World analysis of January payroll records. The average pay for a city of Tulsa firefighter was $57,630.
At the other end of the salary scale, Glenpool, followed by Jenks, ranks among the lowest in average pay for firefighters.
Glenpool paid its firefighters an average of $36,499 annually. Jenks paid its firefighters an average of $40,451 annually. For Jenks, the average firefighter pay is dragged down somewhat due to having five recently hired firefighters earning $27,731 annually while on probationary employment status, records show.
A Jenks firefighter with less than two years experience saw his pay jump to $36,217 annually. Jenks City Attorney Stephen Oakley said that while firefighter salaries may seem low, employees have multiple opportunities to receive significant raises depending on skills and experience.
"If (firefighters) become a basic EMT, they get a raise," Oakley said. "If they get paramedic status, they get a raise. If they maintain a certain physical fitness program, they get a lump sum amount each year on that."
The lowest-paid police officer is in Jenks, where those hired in the past two years earn $31,922 annually. Firefighters and police officers must complete a probation period of one year before earning their full entry-level base salary, and employees receive raises July 1 of each fiscal year, Oakley said.
"As long as council appropriates the funds, we have a contract that will keep rolling over although their pay can go up," he said.
Sapulpa has the lowest-paid rookie firefighter among the nine cities surveyed. A firefighter still on probationary status earns $22,500 annually.
Sapulpa Fire Chief Dannie Whitehouse said newly hired firefighters are on probation for one year.
"When they first come to work they will work 40-hour weeks, because we don't put them on the trucks until we've trained them and it usually takes three months," Whitehouse said.
"These guys understand that their pay is going to jump when they come off probation," Whitehouse said.
Indeed, Sapulpa firefighters hired in 2011 are earning $36,900 to $38,340 in base pay annually. Sapulpa ranks third in highest average annual pay at $49,412.
Other employees
Broken Arrow City Manager Thom Moton said base pay is just part of the picture one should look at when evaluating employee compensation.
"In looking at total compensation, generally it is competitive as an organization," Moton said, referring to Broken Arrow's overall pay plan.
The proof of that is the city's overall low employee turnover, which is about 4 percent, Moton said.
Among all employees contained in the survey, Moton has the highest base pay, according to the World payroll survey.
Moton was hired in November and is paid $153,500, or $161,300 with benefits, per year to manage the fourth-largest city in the state.
Moton's annual pay is about $1,500 more than the next-highest paid employee among nine suburbs, which includes, Bartlesville, Bixby, Claremore, Glenpool Jenks, Owasso Sand Springs and Sapulpa.
Yet despite being paid the most, Moton is the lowest paid on a per-capita basis, according to a World analysis.
Moton's pay on a per-capita basis is $1,505 per 1,000 Broken Arrow residents.
Comparatively, Glenpool Mayor Ed Tinker is paid $10,640 per 1,000 Glenpool residents, ranking him as the highest -paid city manager on a per-capita basis among the nine cities.
Glenpool, with a 2012 estimated population of 11,411 residents, is the smallest among the nine cities surveyed.
Several factors can be considered when municipalities figure how much to pay employees, said Diane Pedicord, general counsel for the Oklahoma Municipal League, a nonprofit organization composed of incorporated cities and towns of Oklahoma.
Cities and towns differ in what services they provide and may have different revenue amounts and sources, she said.
"You have other factors other than just population," Pedicord said.
Cities and towns near metropolitan areas may also face different job-market pressures when compared to rural areas, Pedicord said.
Sand Springs City Manager Rocky Rogers is the lowest paid among others with similar job titles, earning $112,000.
By comparison, the city of Tulsa pays its city manager, James Twombly, $145,600 per year.
The city manager position in Tulsa is a relatively new one and somewhat unique compared to the area cities. Mayor Dewey Bartlett, who created the position, hired Twombly, a former Broken Arrow city manager.
The nine suburbs surveyed operate as a city manager-council form of government, with the city council hiring the city manager.
Moton's salary trails only two city of Tulsa employees, the city physician and the city attorney.
The nine area cities surveyed varied in terms of which positions at the city received the top pay.
In most of the nine cities, the police and fire chiefs are among the top paid.
The city attorney is among the top five highest salaries in five of the nine cities.
Public works directors are in the top five salaries in four of the nine cities.
Randy Ewing, a former Jenks city manager, is still employed with the city, but now as the second-highest-paid employee. Official payroll records list Ewing as a "Special Assistant Consultant," although he is also referred to as the central services director, a position that pays Ewing $97,536 annually.
In all nine cities, the city manager is the highest-paid position with the exception of one town - Owasso.
Finance Director Linda Jones' annual salary was over $8,000 more than that of former City Manager Rodney Ray, who resigned July 1.
Levo explained that until recently, Owasso employees had not received a pay raise in four years.
Ray "did not want this to impact his ability to recruit highly desirable candidates," Levo said. "The city manager also believed he did not have to be the highest-paid employee."
Average annual base pay for police, fire departments*
| City |
Police |
Fire |
| Bartlesville |
$43,632 |
$45,263 |
| Bixby |
$45,804 |
$44,080 |
| Broken Arrow |
$64,176 |
$60,174 |
| Claremore |
$50,171 |
$48,344 |
| Glenpool |
$49,565 |
$36,499 |
| Jenks |
$42,447 |
$40,451 |
| Owasso |
$49,908 |
$64,417** |
| Sand Springs |
$47,751 |
$47,223 |
| Sapulpa |
$51,448 |
$49,412 |
| Tulsa |
$63,199 |
$57,630 |
* Excludes civilian employees
** Certain extra benefit pay included in base salary
Suburban city manager pay comparison
| City |
# Emp |
City manager |
Year hired |
Population |
Pay |
Pay/per 1,000 pop |
| Broken Arrow |
637 |
Thom Moton Jr. |
2012 |
102,019 |
$153,500 |
$1,505 |
| Bixby |
100 |
Douglas Enevoldsen |
2010 |
22,580 |
$151,936 |
$6,729 |
| Jenks |
151 |
Michael Tinker |
2004 |
18,059 |
$124,281 |
$6,882 |
| Bartlesville |
379 |
Edgar Gordon |
1991 |
36,245 |
$123,365 |
$3,404 |
| Glenpool |
85 |
Ed Tinker |
2007 |
11,411 |
$121,416 |
$10,640 |
| Owasso |
269 |
Vacant |
-- |
31,453 |
$120,146* |
$3,820 |
| Claremore |
317 |
James Thomas |
2012 |
18,867 |
$115,000 |
$6,095 |
| Sapulpa |
269 |
Thomas DeArman |
1994 |
20,793 |
$115,000 |
$5,531 |
| Sand Springs |
207 |
Rocky Rogers |
2011 |
19,101 |
$112,000 |
$5,864 |
| Tulsa |
About 3,700 |
Jim Twombly |
2009 |
393,987 |
$145,600 |
$369 |
*Previous City Manager Rodney Ray salary
Curtis Killman 918-581-8471
curtis.killman@tulsaworld.com
Samantha Vicent 918-581-8321
samantha.vicent@tulsaworld.com
Original Print Headline: Comparing pay
