What do Centre County police departments pay their chiefs, new officers? Here’s a look
Four of the five municipal police departments in Centre County have seen turnover in their top leadership in the past six years, a stretch that highlights changes in the local policing landscape.
The newest police chief is State College’s Joe Merrill, who took the helm of the 56-officer department in January. The department has nearly as many officers as the county’s four other departments combined.
Records obtained by the Centre Daily Times under the state’s public access law also show how the differences in compensation between the three chiefs in the Centre Region and the two in the Nittany Valley Region.
The borough, along with Ferguson and Patton townships, are paying between $135,000 and $155,000 in base salary for their chiefs. In Bellefonte and Spring Township, that number sits between $96,000 and about $106,000.
Starting pay for new officers varies, ranging from $67,300 in Bellefonte to $82,700 in State College. Pinpointing the exact salary is difficult because it depends on each department’s collective bargaining agreement, but nonetheless shows how competitive each municipality is in a labor market that isn’t as robust as it once was.
Below is a look at the structure and salaries for each municipal police department in Centre County.
State College
Chief: Joe Merrill (Three months in the role)
Base salary: $155,000
Number of full-time officers in the department: 56
Starting salary for a new officer: $39.79 per hour, about $82,760 per year
Patton Township
Chief: Tyler Jolley (Eight years in the role)
Base salary: $68.81 per hour, about $143,125 per year
Number of full-time officers in the department: 20
Starting salary for a new officer: $37.10 per hour, about $77,170 per year
Ferguson Township
Chief: Matthew Wilson (Four months in the role)
Base salary: $135,384
Number of full-time officers in the department: 21
Starting salary for a new officer: $39.74 per hour, about $82,660 per year
Spring Township
Chief: Adam Salyards (Four years in the role)
Base salary: $51.04 per hour, about $106,160 per year
Number of full-time officers in the department: Eight
Starting salary for a new officer: $70,000 per year
Bellefonte
Chief: Bill Witmer (One year in the role)
Base salary: $46.17 per hour, about $96,000 per year
Number of full-time officers in the department: 11
Starting salary for a new officer: $67,305
