By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer
In the last issue we discussed whether – and to what extent — population influenced a jurisdiction’s relative wage ranking. In this article we discussed to what extent assessed valuation influences that ranking.
In this article we discuss wage as it relates to assessed valuation, but for the detailed data, you’ll want to explore our Premium Website. If you’re not currently a Premium Website subscriber you can review our services Cline and Associates Premium Information Services and contact Carly Alcombrack at Cline and Associates and she’ll explain how you can become one: CAlcombrack@clinelawfirm.com.
As we indicated previously, we have posted on our premium website detailed wage charts for the various public safety classifications (commissioned law enforcement, firefighter, corrections officer, dispatcher, and records clerks) which show state wage rankings and also the correlation of those wages to the factors we are discussing in this portion of our wage series — population, assessed valuation, and geographic location. In this article we identify and discuss how assessed valuation correlates with the wage rankings for commissioned law enforcement personnel. (A more detailed chart of this commission data, along with the data for the other bargaining units is posted on the premium website 2023 Wage Survey. A review of assessed valuation data does indicate a strong correlation between assessed valuation and wage rank. As we move down the list the wage rankings also increase.
But despite the strong apparent correlation the data does not explain all wage rankings. For example, Redmond has the 5th highest AV, yet its wage rank is only 14. Spokane ranks in the top ten but has a 57th wage rank. On the other end of the AV spectrum, Olympia is 21st ranked for AV and has the 12th highest wage in the survey. Puyallup has a wage rank that far outperforms its assessed valuation — 25th in assessed valuation and 8th in wages. Kirkland and Tacoma have AV rank close to their wage ranks. Seattle ranks number 1 in AV but 15 in wages but in that case, their wages lag is due to a long-expired CBA. So, as we identified in the previous article on the series, there may be a lot of other variables at play affecting wage ranking and one should bear in mind that this wage ranking is based only on one piece of the total compensation covered by the CBA.
Here is the top 10 list of city AV and wage rankings:
25-year BA Patrol Officer Wage
Washington Cities 2023 Ranked by Assessed Valuation
| Rank | Assessed Valuation | Cities | Wage Rank | |
| 1 | 307700253110 | Seattle | 15 | |
| 2 | 98758092533 | Bellevue | 28 | |
| 3 | 48360922972 | Kirkland | 5 | |
| 4 | 43161357947 | Tacoma | 6 | |
| 5 | 39057801704 | Redmond | 14 | |
| 6 | 34213957547 | Vancouver | 17 | |
| 7 | 33733593486 | Spokane | 57 | |
| 8 | 32031647419 | Kent | 2 | |
| 9 | 28635186471 | Renton | 11 | |
| 10 | 26824203337 | Everett | 4 |
Putting the population and assessed valuation data together in the form of assessed valuation per capita is also a strong indication of wage rank and it can help in answering some the anomalies in the other lists. For example, small Medina ranks 22nd in the State in wages. Its population rank is 123 and assessed violation is the 33rd highest but it is at the top of the assessed valuation per capita list. Fife is 72nd in population but a relatively high wage rank of 29th. This rank is more in line with its assessed valuation per capita rank of 23rd.
Below is the list of the top 10 Washington Cities AV Per Capita List.
25-year BA Patrol Officer Wage
Washington Cities 2023 Ranked by AV per Capita
| Rank | Assessed Valuation per capita | Cities | Wage Rank | |
| 1 | 2461845 | Medina | 22 | |
| 2 | 1502820 | Clyde Hill | 80 | |
| 3 | 871091 | Mercer Island | 10 | |
| 4 | 692297 | Quincy | 102 | |
| 5 | 638797 | Bellevue | 28 | |
| 6 | 509581 | Bainbridge Island | 25 | |
| 7 | 504037 | Redmond | 14 | |
| 8 | 498978 | Kirkland | 5 | |
| 9 | 460273 | Sumner | 35 | |
| 10 | 437211 | Issaquah | 9 |
A review of County Deputy Sheriff wages indicates a similar strong correlation between County assessed valuation and those wages. While they do not match up exactly, as with most of these lists the higher wages tend to be at the top of this AV list and almost all of the AV ranks over 30 are ranked at the bottom of the wage list. It also reveals that several counties also “underperform” or “overperform” on wages relative to their assessed valuation. San Juan County is 21st ranked for AV but shows that strong 8th rank for wages at the 25-year BA level. Skagit County is on the top 10 AV list but ranks 15th for its 25 Year BA wage.
Below is the list of the top 10 Washington counties ranked by Assessed Valuation.
25-year BA Sheriff Deputy Wage
Washington Counties 2023 Ranked by Assessed Valuation
| Rank | Assessed Valuation | Counties | Wage Rank | |
| 1 | 876482920620 | King County | 1 | |
| 2 | 219454345010 | Snohomish County | 3 | |
| 3 | 190571582730 | Pierce County | 2 | |
| 4 | 98075328593 | Clark County | 5 | |
| 5 | 88340941294 | Spokane County | 9 | |
| 6 | 60628527471 | Kitsap County | 4 | |
| 7 | 59889577889 | Thurston County | 10 | |
| 8 | 52494489363 | Whatcom County | 7 | |
| 9 | 30046142003 | Skagit County | 15 | |
| 10 | 28833817138 | Benton County | 6 |
As with the Police Officers wages, the Assessed Valuation per capita ranking list can offer some interesting insight into the anomalies in the deputy sheriff wage/demographic numbers. We make sense of San Juan County with its 8th rank for wages in spite of much lower ranking for population and assessed valuation because it is ranked 1st for AV per capita. Below is the AV per capita table for county deputy sheriffs.
25-year BA Sheriff Deputy Wage
Washington Counties 2023 Ranked by AV per capita
| Rank | Assessed Valuation per capita | Counties | Wage Rank | |
| 1 | 680692 | San Juan County | 8 | |
| 2 | 373321 | King County | 1 | |
| 3 | 279502 | Kittitas County | 22 | |
| 4 | 264788 | Island County | 17 | |
| 5 | 263040 | Columbia County | 36 | |
| 6 | 257636 | Jefferson County | 21 | |
| 7 | 255239 | Snohomish County | 3 | |
| 8 | 242522 | Chelan County | 14 | |
| 9 | 232982 | Garfield County | 39 | |
| 10 | 227622 | Skagit County | 15 |
This data both explains and justifies the practice of arbitrators of providing heavy weight to Population and AV in selecting comparables. Those two factors are the most frequently applied comparability selection factors. There’s a mixed practice of arbitrators applying AV per capita, but this data also suggests that there can be a valid basis for presenting such data, particularly to narrow down the potential set of comparables.
Again, while this data focuses on two of the commissioned public safety classifications, our review of other data shows similar trends in other public safety negotiations. As indicated, that data can be located on the Cline and Associates Premium website. It should also be noted that this survey focuses on basic wages and education and longevity premiums as measured at the 25-year BA level. There may well be other forms of compensation parties achieve or don’t achieve in contract negotiations and wage rank alone does not tell the whole story.
The cursory review of Population and AV data also suggests that something more than those two factors influences the rank, namely geography and the proximity to large metro markets. In the next newsletter we’ll explore the extent to which our data indicates location seems to impact wage negotiations and rank.
