Kilmer bill provides funds for public safety

OLYMPIA — Local communities will soon have help from the state in meeting the ever increasing cost of providing adequate public safety services, and in recruiting and retaining qualified fire fighters and law enforcement officers.

Senate Bill 6573, sponsored by Sen. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor and signed into law last week by Gov. Chris Gregoire, will transfer state general revenue into a new Local Public Safety Enhancement Account (LPSEA) that will be used to fund critical public safety services, including recruiting police officers and tracking sex offenders.

“This is going to put more public safety funding where it can do the most good — into the hands of the local governments that are hiring the cops and firefighters we depend on to keep us safe,” said Kilmer.

The legislation also makes adjustments to the retirement benefits of public safety personnel to take into consideration the physically demanding nature of their work. The retirement age for firefighters and law enforcement officers reflect the physically demanding nature of their work, but the existing retirement benefit schedule doesn’t.

“Cops and firefighters who retire today get a take-home benefit that’s only about 38 percent of their working salary,” said Kilmer. “They can earn a greater benefit by working until a later age, but these are physical demanding jobs that carry a much greater risk of injury after age 50 — and I don’t think we want to be putting our firefighters and law enforcement professionals at any greater risk than we already do.”

In February, Kilmer was named the “Legislator of the Year” by the Washington Council of Police and Sheriffs for his work to improve public safety and support law enforcement officers.

Sen. Derek Kilmer stands with law enforcement officers and firefighters from across Washington as Gov. Chris Gregoire signs Senate Bill 6573 into law

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