New hiring incentives are making hiring officers less stressful for Jefferson police chief Mark Clouse.
The Jefferson city council at its only December meeting approved offering a $2,000 hiring bonus paid to an officer when he (or she) signs a contract, as well as payments toward student loans once the officer is certified.
In December Clouse had two vacancies to fill and saw one or two more developing soon. He was worried about attracting good candidates in a very competitive job market.
He isn’t as concerned now. According to Clouse, “there’s a lot of excitement at interviews about the program.” He called response to the incentive program “excellent.”
The council held a special meeting in December to approve hiring Andrew Chapman, a 2006 Jefferson-Scranton graduate. Chapman has related job experience but is not yet a certified officer. Chapman will receive the sign-on bonus as soon as the city attorney completes new language in the employment contract.
Clouse said he expects to recommend another individual for hiring at the Jan. 22 council meeting, and there’s a third possible candidate as well.
He added that officer Shane Jones had just given notice. His departure was one of those he anticipated in December. Jones was accepted into the Iowa State Patrol and will report for that academy Jan. 25. His last day with the JPD will be Jan. 22.
Clouse said its frustrating that the ISP didn’t give the new recruits more notice, as it left the JPD and 17 other agencies across the state with vacancies to fill on short notice.
