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SALARY & BENEFITS
The Meridian Police Department offers a competitive and comprehensive salary and benefits package. New officers begin earning a salary the day they are hired, and are eligible to receive benefits the 1st of the next month following their date of hire. This page was designed to outline our pay scale and provide information on our great benefits and strong retirement system. Continue exploring this page to see why we're one of the best agencies to work for.
SALARY
Police Officer Pay is outlined in the chart below. Meridian Police Officers are some of the highest paid officers in the State of Idaho, are paid once a month, and are paid on the last business day of each month. Salary figures reflect base pay and do not include overtime, which officers are eligible for after successfully completing the Field Training Program. Incentive pay is also not included in the chart below.
Incentive Pay
Field Training Officers are paid an additional 5% of their base pay rate.
Department Instructors are paid an additional hour on days they instruct.
Salary by Rank
The chart below provides a salary range for each rank within the Meridian Police Department. These numbers do not include overtime or incentive pay.
BENEFITS OVERVIEW
Health Benefits:
New police officers are eligible to begin receiving benefits on the 1st day of the month following their hire date. Meridian Police Department employees are eligible to participate in the following benefits:
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Medical - Blue Cross of Idaho
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Dental - Delta Dental or Willamette Dental
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Vision - VSP
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Life Insurance, STD & LTD - United Heritage
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Supplemental Life Insurance - United Heritage & NCPERS
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Supplemental Policies - AFLAC
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Flexible Spending Accounts - WEX
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Employee Assistance Program (EAP) - BPA Health
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Peer Support Program
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Tuition Reimbursement - Up to $3,000 per year
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Paid Parental Leave - Up to twelve (12) weeks
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Vacation Rollover - Employees are eligible to rollover a portion of their vacation hours to their PERSI 401K retirement account
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Retirement:
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PERSI: City Contribution - 13.26% | Employee Contribution - 9.83%
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Optional PERSI Choice 401K
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Optional Deferred Compensation State 457 Plan
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City will match up to 2% of base salary of employee contributions to PERSI Choice 401K or The State of Idaho Deferred Compensation 457 Plan
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For a list of the 2025 contribution rates, please visit our Contribution Rate Chart.
Additional Benefits for Police Officers:
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All safety equipment is provided upon hire, along with initial allotment of uniforms (except boots).
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Annual Uniform Allowance - $1,100
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Dry Cleaning - Paid credit for one (1) uniform per week
Paid Holidays:
The City of Meridian observes eleven holidays with pay during the calendar year:
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New Year's Day (January 1)
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Martin Luther King, Jr's Birthday/Human Rights Day (3rd Monday in January)
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President's Day (3rd Monday in February)
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Memorial Day (Last Monday in May)
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Juneteenth (June 19)
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Independence Day (July 4)
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Labor Day (1st Monday in September)
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Veteran's Day (November 11)
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Thanksgiving (4th Thursday in November)
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Day after Thanksgiving
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Christmas Day (December 25)
Vacation & Sick Leave Accrual:
All Meridian City Employees earn vacation hours based on their years of service:
Regardless of years of service, sick leave is accumulated at 8.0 hours per month.
For more information on benefits, please visit our Benefits Guide.
RETIREMENT
As a Meridian Police Officer, you will participate in the Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho (PERSI) and will contribute 9.13% of your salary to your base retirement plan. Whereas the City of Meridian will contribute 12.21% of your salary to your base retirement plan.
PERSI is one of the strongest retirement systems in the nation, and PERSI prides itself on ensuring every member "makes back" every dollar they ever put into their retirement plan. As a member of PERSI you will not only contribute to your base retirement plan, but will be eligible to participate in a variety of benefits such as: PERSI Choice 401K (City will match up to 2%), Deferred Compensation State 457 Plan, survivor benefits, and cost-of-living adjustments.
As a police officer, you will be eligible to retire and receive a reduced benefit as long as you've been employed with the Meridian Police Department for a minimum of 60 months and are at least 50 years old. To receive the maximum retirement benefit from PERSI, you must meet the service retirement age or the Rule of 80. For police officers, the service retirement age is 60 years old. To calculate the Rule of 80, add your years of service plus your age. Once both equal 80, you are eligible to retire with the maximum benefit.
For example: Peter has been a police officer with the MPD for 26 years, and he is 54 years old. When you add Peter's years of service (26) plus his age (54), they equal 80. Thus, Peter can retire before the service retirement age and still receive the maximum benefit from PERSI because he meets the Rule of 80.
Below is the formula to calculate your PERSI benefit:
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Find your highest average monthly salary for 42 consecutive months (anytime during career).
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Multiply your average monthly salary by 2.3%.
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Multiply the answer from step 2 by your total months of service. This will give you the annual benefit.
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To find out what PERSI will pay you on a monthly basis, divide the annual benefit by 12.
For more information, visit the Public Employee Retirement System (PERSI) website.
CONTACT
US
(208) 888-6678
PDRECRUITING@MERIDIANCITY.ORG
VISIT
US
1401 EAST WATERTOWER STREET
MERIDIAN, IDAHO 83642
MONDAY-FRIDAY: 7:00 AM - 5:00 PM