Customs officers get 21 percent pay hikes

About 2,500 Customs Service inspectors and canine enforcement officers will get raises of up to 21 percent in August, the head of the Customs Service said Monday. U.S. Customs Commissioner Robert Bonner announced that experienced inspectors and canine enforcement officers at the agency would be reclassified on the federal pay scale from the GS-9 level to GS-11. The difference in pay between the two levels is 21 percent, or more than $8,000 in many locations. Depending on where an officer's pay currently is within the GS-9 level, the raise could vary from a few thousand dollars to as much as $10,000. "Clearly, the responsibilities of Customs officers have increased," Bonner said. "They are actively engaged in identifying, detecting and deterring terrorists and terrorists weapons from entering our country." Under the federal pay system, managers must show that the responsibilities of employees have increased to justify higher pay rates. The pay increase comes amid intense competition among federal law enforcement agencies for qualified personnel. The Customs Service doesn't track how many law enforcement officers it has lost to other federal agencies such as the Federal Air Marshals this year, said spokesman James Michie. But according to Office of Personnel Management statistics, 25 Customs officers left the service for other federal agencies in the first three months of fiscal 2002, and 81 officers left for other agencies in fiscal 2001. That attrition pales in comparison to the turnover at other law enforcement agencies as a result of the federal air marshals program. The air marshals have taken about 10 percent of officers at the Park Police, Secret Service uniformed division and Border Patrol, according to estimates. The competition for new officers is just as fierce. The Customs Service plans to hire 1,200 inspectors and several hundred special agents this fiscal year. Meanwhile, the Immigration and Naturalization Service is hiring some 10,000 agents and other employees, the FBI is hiring 900 agents, the Transportation Security Administration is hiring an undisclosed number of law enforcement personnel and other federal agencies are trying to recoup their losses to the air marshals. Just as the Customs Service is upgrading pay for its officers, other agencies are seeking better pay for their officers. The Immigration and Naturalization Service is seeking to upgrade some of its agents' pay grades from GS-9 to GS-11. The Federal Protective Service, whose officers guard federal buildings, plans to boost salaries as well. Much of the turnover among law enforcement agencies stems from the fragmented rules that govern pay and retirement. Some law enforcement agencies offer retirement to their employees after 20 years of service at age 50 or 25 years of service at any age, while other agencies require uniformed agents to work longer before they can retire with full benefits. Customs inspectors and canine enforcement officers, for example, don't receive the special retirement coverage. In addition, federal law is littered with provisions creating special pay authorities for small groups of law enforcement officers. The pay raises for Customs officers will take effect in August after supervisors complete the paperwork necessary to make the change in classification. National Treasury Employees Union President Colleen Kelley said the union had been pushing Customs to upgrade the officers' pay for several years. "We've been advocating this for a number of years," Kelley said. Sen. James Jeffords, I-Vt., had included language in the pending Customs authorization bill that would have forced the agency to upgrade the officers. That legislative effort is no longer necessary, Kelley said. Kelley said Customs officials told her the raises would cost about $13 million.