City of Kennewick
City of Kennewick
Last updated on July 08, 2022
Available Positions
Salary Information
2025 Salary Information: $97,188 to $125,496 / Year (excludes holiday pay. $103,917 to $134,184 with holiday pay)
Monthly Salaries*: Hire-$8,099; 18 months-$8,501; 30 months-$9,009; 42 months-$9,507
*Lateral hires are recognized with service credit based on the salary schedule listed above.
Career Development Program:
Police Officer First Class: $9,744
Senior Police Officer: $10,078
Master Police Officer: $10,458
Benefit Information
Union Affiliation: Kennewick Police Officers Benefit Association, Medical, Dental, Vision Insurance, Annual Leave, Bereavement Leave, Deferred Compensation 457 Plan (with current 5% City contribution and no match required), Life Insurance, State Law Enforcement Officers and Fire Fighters (LEOFF 2) Retirement Plan, Employee Assistance Plan, Flex-Plan program. See additional benefits in the recruiting brochure. Here is the link: Recruiting Brochure
Name: Cristina Templeton
Phone: (509) 585-4382
Email: cristina.templeton@ci.kennewick.wa.us
Or KPD-Recruiters@ci.kennewick.wa.us
Kennewick Police Department - Police Officer Requirements
| Category | Requirement | Required at time of... | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Test | Hire | ||
| Written Examination |
Yes, required |
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| LEO/CO Physical Ability Test (PAT) |
Yes, required Your physical ability test must be completed 180 days (~6 months) before or after your passing written exam. |
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| PST Personal History Statement | Yes, required within 30 days of passing required exam(s) | ||
| Minimum Age | 20.5 | ||
| Citizenship | US Citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident | ||
| High School Grad/ GED | Yes | ||
| Driver's License Required | Yes | ||
| Felony Conviction(s) as an Adult | No adult felony convictions at any time. | ||
| Felony Conviction(s) as a Juvenile | Will be carefully reviewed | ||
| Ability to Read, Speak & Write the English Language | Yes | ||
| Vision Requirements | 20/100 uncorrected and correctable to 20/20 in each eye. | ||
| Prior Experience Requirement |
No |
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| Veterans Preference Points |
Veteran's Preference points will only be applied to a passing score not to bring a score up to the minimum requirement of 70%. |
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| Body Decorations | Tattoos and jewelry must conform with Department policy. | ||
| Multiple Scores from Same Applicant | We only consider the most recent score | ||
Kennewick Police Department - Police Officer Disqualifiers
The following are automatic and potential disqualifiers. Applicants should not apply to our agency if they indicate any of the automatic disqualifiers. Potential disqualifiers will be considered on a case by case basis.
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| Drug Usage |
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| Criminal Activity |
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| Employment |
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| Financial |
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Salary Information
2026 Salary Information: $88,656 to $116,664 per year, excluding holiday pay, paramedic differential, specialty pay, and other applicable premiums.
Monthly Firefighter Salaries: Step 1 - $7,388; Step 2 - $8,166; Step 3 - $8,944; Step 4 - $9,722.
Pay step increases are effective upon successful completion of the requirements for the corresponding step of the Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (JATC) program.
Firefighter/Paramedic Pay: City-authorized certified paramedics receive additional compensation equal to 13% of Step 4 Firefighter pay, currently approximately $1,264 per month or $15,166 per year. This results in a Firefighter/Paramedic base salary range of approximately $103,822 to $131,830 per year, excluding holiday pay and other applicable premiums.
Additional Compensation:
The City contributes 5% of the employee’s salary, including applicable classification and specialty pay, to a selected deferred compensation program.
Specialty-team trainees receive 1% of Step 4 Firefighter pay.
Qualified HazMat, Technical Rescue, and SCBA team members receive 2.1% of Step 4 Firefighter pay.
HazMat and Technical Rescue Team Leads receive total specialty compensation of 4.2% of Step 4 Firefighter pay.
Additional education and longevity incentive pay may be available based on college credits and years of service.
Benefit Information
The City of Kennewick offers firefighters a comprehensive benefits package that includes:
Medical Insurance: The City pays 95% of the medical insurance premium, and employees pay 5%. For 2026, employee premiums are $47.62 or $52.73 per month for employee-only coverage and $142.24 or $157.53 per month for full-family coverage, depending on the plan selected.
Dental, Vision, Long-Term Disability and EAP: The City pays 100% of the employee premium.
Vacation Leave: New firefighters earn 16 hours of vacation leave per month, with accrual increasing based on years of service.
Sick Leave: New firefighters receive 144 hours of sick leave upon hire. After the first six months, firefighters accrue 24 hours per month through their first three years of employment.
Holiday Pay: Firefighters may receive up to 120 hours of holiday pay, paid as a lump sum in December.
Retirement: Firefighters participate in the Washington State LEOFF Plan 2 pension system, which provides a lifetime retirement benefit and survivor options. Full retirement is available at age 53, with reduced retirement available as early as age 50, subject to applicable plan requirements.
Deferred Compensation: The City contributes 5% of the employee’s salary to a 457 deferred compensation plan. No employee match is required.
Medical Expense Reimbursement Plan: The City contributes $75 per month to a MERP account to help pay eligible medical expenses and health insurance premiums in retirement.
Life Insurance: The City provides $25,000 in life insurance coverage. Employees may also purchase additional voluntary group term life insurance.
Uniforms and Equipment: The City pays for required firefighter uniforms and boots.
Additional Benefits: Flexible Spending Accounts, tuition assistance, wellness programming and access to fitness facilities.
Kennewick Fire Department - Firefighter Requirements
| Category | Requirement | Required at time of... | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Test | Hire | ||
| Written Examination |
Yes, required |
||
| Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT) |
Yes, required |
||
| PST Personal History Statement | Yes, required within 30 days of passing required exam(s) | ||
| Minimum Age | 18 | ||
| Citizenship | US Citizen | ||
| High School Grad/ GED | Yes | ||
| Driver's License Required | Yes | ||
| Felony Conviction(s) as an Adult | No adult felony convictions at any time. | ||
| Felony Conviction(s) as a Juvenile | Will be carefully reviewed | ||
| Ability to Read, Speak & Write the English Language | Yes | ||
| Vision Requirements | 20/100 uncorrected and correctable to 20/20 in each eye. | ||
| Prior Experience Requirement |
No |
||
| Veterans Preference Points |
Veteran's Preference points will only be applied to a passing score not to bring a score up to the minimum requirement of 70%. |
||
| EMT Certification |
EMT certification is not required at the time of testing or hire. Employees must obtain and maintain Washington State EMT certification within one year of appointment. |
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| CPAT | |||
| Multiple Scores from Same Applicant | We consider the highest score received within the past one year | ||
Kennewick Fire Department - Firefighter Disqualifiers
The following are automatic and potential disqualifiers. Applicants should not apply to our agency if they indicate any of the automatic disqualifiers. Potential disqualifiers will be considered on a case by case basis.
| Category | Disqualifier | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Driving |
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| Drug Usage |
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| Criminal Activity |
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Salary Information
2026 Firefighter/Paramedic Salary Information: $103,822 to $131,830 per year, excluding holiday pay, overtime, specialty pay, and other applicable premiums.
Monthly Salaries: Step 1 - $8,652; Step 2 - $9,430; Step 3 - $10,208; Step 4 - $10,986.
These amounts include the paramedic differential, which is equal to 13% of Step 4 Firefighter pay, currently approximately $1,264 per month or $15,166 per year.
Pay step increases are effective upon successful completion of the requirements for the corresponding step of the Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (JATC) program.
Paramedic Retention Pay: Paramedics who maintain their certification beyond five years receive a total differential of 14% of Step 4 Firefighter pay. Paramedics who maintain their certification beyond ten years receive a total differential of 15%.
Employees may also qualify for specialty-team pay and education and longevity incentive pay.
Benefit Information
The City of Kennewick offers firefighters a comprehensive benefits package that includes:
Medical Insurance: The City pays 95% of the medical insurance premium, and employees pay 5%. For 2026, employee premiums are $47.62 or $52.73 per month for employee-only coverage and $142.24 or $157.53 per month for full-family coverage, depending on the plan selected.
Dental, Vision, Long-Term Disability and EAP: The City pays 100% of the employee premium.
Vacation Leave: New firefighters earn 16 hours of vacation leave per month, with accrual increasing based on years of service.
Sick Leave: New firefighters receive 144 hours of sick leave upon hire. After the first six months, firefighters accrue 24 hours per month through their first three years of employment.
Holiday Pay: Firefighters may receive up to 120 hours of holiday pay, paid as a lump sum in December.
Retirement: Firefighters participate in the Washington State LEOFF Plan 2 pension system, which provides a lifetime retirement benefit and survivor options. Full retirement is available at age 53, with reduced retirement available as early as age 50, subject to applicable plan requirements.
Deferred Compensation: The City contributes 5% of the employee’s salary to a 457 deferred compensation plan. No employee match is required.
Medical Expense Reimbursement Plan: The City contributes $75 per month to a MERP account to help pay eligible medical expenses and health insurance premiums in retirement.
Life Insurance: The City provides $25,000 in life insurance coverage. Employees may also purchase additional voluntary group term life insurance.
Uniforms and Equipment: The City pays for required firefighter uniforms and boots.
Additional Benefits: Flexible Spending Accounts, tuition assistance, wellness programming and access to fitness facilities.
Kennewick Fire Department - Firefighter/Paramedic Requirements
| Category | Requirement | Required at time of... | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Test | Hire | ||
| Written Examination |
Yes, required |
||
| Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT) |
Yes, required |
||
| PST Personal History Statement | Yes, required within 30 days of passing required exam(s) | ||
| Minimum Age | 18 | ||
| Citizenship | US Citizen | ||
| High School Grad/ GED | Yes | ||
| Driver's License Required | Yes | ||
| Felony Conviction(s) as an Adult | No adult felony convictions at any time. | ||
| Felony Conviction(s) as a Juvenile | Will be carefully reviewed | ||
| Ability to Read, Speak & Write the English Language | Yes | ||
| Vision Requirements | 20/100 uncorrected and correctable to 20/20 in each eye. | ||
| Veterans Preference Points |
Veteran's Preference points will only be applied to a passing score not to bring a score up to the minimum requirement of 70%. |
||
| Paramedic Certification | Yes | ||
| CPAT | |||
| Multiple Scores from Same Applicant | We consider the highest score received within the past one year | ||
Kennewick Fire Department - Firefighter/Paramedic Disqualifiers
The following are automatic and potential disqualifiers. Applicants should not apply to our agency if they indicate any of the automatic disqualifiers. Potential disqualifiers will be considered on a case by case basis.
| Category | Disqualifier | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Driving |
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| Drug Usage |
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| Criminal Activity |
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COVID-19 UPDATES
5/6/2020 Update:
TESTING IN WASHINGTON STATE CANCELED THROUGH MAY 31, 2020
All pre-employment tests in Washington State have been canceled until May 31, 2020 unless government restrictions are eased. With recent updates, facility closures, and government guidelines, this step is necessary and could be modified at any time. The health and safety of our customers, our staff, and their families is of the highest priority.
We will continue to evaluate developments and make changes to this policy as necessary. When we do resume testing, there will be plenty of events for everyone to test. We are in regular communication with our public safety agency partners, assessing alternatives to the traditional testing model and our testing policies. Any future updates will be posted on the PST website and our Facebook page.
4/1/2020 Update:
If you have tested with PST in the past 12 months, there may be additional positions you are now eligible to add. Several departments have temporarily changed their testing policies due to the suspension in testing that COVID-19 has caused. Please login to your PST account and navigate to the ‘New Positions’ page to see what departments you can add! We will regularly update that page in your account as departments send updates.
FUTURE TEST REGISTRATION
We know that there will be testing in the future - we just don’t know when! We want you to be prepared for when testing begins again so we have created test events on our calendar that you can register for that will place you in a queue to be first notified. These tests are not “real” test events, they are essentially a holding area. You will be able to “reschedule” out of that event to any other event date/location at no cost. Registering now will also give you time to work on your Personal History Statement (PHS) so that your data will be ready and up-to-date to send to your departments once testing resumes.
To sign up for this placeholder event, select the June 15, 2020 test date in your category (police, fire, 911 dispatch, corrections, etc.).
You may also click on the test event of interest below to sign up:
Law Enforcement & Corrections Written and Physical Ability Test
Please check back here frequently and ‘Like’ our Facebook page to stay updated.
PST staff are working remotely and are available by email at contact@publicsafetytesting.com. We anticipate a high email volume and will respond as quickly as possible.
