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Negotiations
will set new pay scales From
the Indy Star, February 26, 2006 The
challenge of squaring pay scales for the city and county police could add to
the cost of next year's merger, but that question will play out in separate
negotiations with the police union seeking new contracts. The
City-County Council ordinance approving the consolidation of the Indianapolis
Police Department and Marion County Sheriff's Department said that no officer
in either department should "suffer any loss in pay, pension or fringe
benefits" as a result of the merger. But
it also states that the ordinance does not limit the union or city from
negotiating compensation with the new, consolidated force. The
Fraternal Order of Police union represents both departments. IPD's contract with the union ran out in January, and
negotiations have begun on a new contract that likely will cover only 2006. The
Sheriff's Department contract ends in December. Then the mayor expects to
negotiate a single contract for the new department, city officials said,
presumably with equivalent officers receiving equal pay. Sheriff's
deputies now earn a higher base pay than their city counterparts. First-year
deputies, for instance, earned nearly $700 more per year than first-year
patrol officers in 2005. However, longevity pay and other factors can lead to
IPD officers at different ranks earning more than
deputies. According
to an independent analysis prepared for the council, equalizing pay scales
for 2005 salaries could have cost up to $1.3 million per year if it raised
the lower salary and benefits to the higher level in every case. On the other
hand, if it reduced compensation to the lower level in every case,
equalization could save the city up to $1.5 million a year. Suzannah Overholt, the mayor's
transition director for consolidation, said those numbers may provide general
estimates but are based on past contracts. She said compensation for the new
department depends entirely on upcoming negotiations. "Whatever
happens will be a result of bargaining, not the merger," Overholt said. Flint
police officers approve contract Pay raises, signing bonuses included in deal From WJRT,
February 28, 2006 Monday night saw Flint police officers ratify a new
contract with the city. The 175 officers in the department will get their first
pay raise in eight years. The votes were tallied just after midnight. Let's look at the breakdown: 149 voted to pass 15 voted
against. Under this agreement, Union President Keith Speer says
the officers will get their first pay raise in eight years. They will also
receive a signing bonus. Officers will lose some sick and vacation time, but
their health care will stay the same. This contract will stay in effect until 2008. Police dump city 'tokens' to protest stalled talks Hollywood police officers and city officials are
close to a stalemate on a new union contract. The old three-year agreement
expired in October. From
the Miami Herald, March 2, 2006 Hollywood
police officers shredded dozens of certificates of appreciation they received
from the city for hurricane service and dropped them off at the mayor's
office Wednesday, protesting stalled union contract negotiations. The
symbolic move by union officials signaled to commissioners that the sides are
one step closer to an impasse, which would put police salaries and pensions
in the hands of an arbitrator. As
with most union negotiations, the issue is money, but a union spokesman said
officers feel disrespected. ''The
officers here don't feel they are being recognized and their efforts are
being minimized,'' said Jeff Marano, treasurer of
the Broward County Police Benevolent Association. ``We believe it's the
commission trying to put the screws to us.'' City
Manager Cameron Benson, who is leading the city's negotiation team, declined
to comment on the talks. Both
sides said they expected to continue to negotiate. Officers
are currently working under the terms of the last three-year agreement, which
expired in October. SLOW PROGRESS In
June, Benson and PBA negotiators started talks for a new three-year deal, but
progress was slow as the two sides haggled over police pensions. City
Commissioner Beam Furr has criticized the city's
current pension plan for police officers several times at public meetings,
which has upset some officers, Marano said. Pension
costs have been skyrocketing in recent years, creating budget problems for
Hollywood and other cities. The
city's initial package was a 12.5 percent pay increase over three years, but
officers would also have to give up a safe-driving incentive, which now adds
another 2.5 percent to salaries. Currently,
officers can receive the safe-driving bonus if they have three consecutive
years without a car accident. Union
representatives rejected the deal and after months of unproductive meetings,
put aside the issue of pensions. On Feb. 10, Marano
changed demands and went for a one-year deal with a 4 percent raise. Most
agreements are negotiated on three year terms. DECORATIVE PINS The
following week, police officers received certificates and decorative pins
from the commission for their service during last year's hurricane season. Marano said the ''tokens'' were a slap in the face. Most
of the certificates were shredded and put in a box. Marano
took the box and about 100 of the pins and dropped them off at Mayor Mara Giulianti's office in City Hall around noon, just before
the City Commission meeting. ''If
they really appreciate the work, then maybe they will come to the table with
an equitable offer,'' Marano said. ``For the past
nine months, we have been playing cat and mouse and we are tired of it.''
Rialto
ends police talks From the San Bernardino Sun, February 24, 2006 RIALTO
- City leaders halted the string of court-ordered meet-and-confer sessions
with the police union Thursday, striking greater division between the sides
in their fight over the future of law enforcement in the city. The
city stopped what would have been the fifth meeting before it started,
presenting the union's attorney, Dieter Dammeier,
with documents stating the "fundamental difference of opinion on the
issue of contracting'' with the Sheriff's Department was irreconcilable. The
move is meant to trigger the "impasse procedure," a fact-finding
process that has been part of the municipal code since 1974. Both sides in a
deadlocked dispute may turn to independent "fact finders" who turn
their findings over to the City Council for deliberation, said Assistant City
Administrator Kirby Warner. The
council voted 4-1 Sept. 13 to disband the Police Department and enter into a
contract with the Sheriff's Department. As recently as Tuesday, council
members have not indicated any vacillation from their vote. Mayor Grace
Vargas was the lone dissenter. Warner
said the city was acting in the interest of safety and accused the union of
deliberately prolonging the process. "The
council has heard and continues to hear complaints that it is ignoring public
safety and officer safety," Warner said. "Given the apparent
futility of these meet-and-confer sessions we needed to further the
process." The
union has no intention at this time of engaging in this process. Dammeier accused the city's negotiators of
stifling the court-ordered process prematurely and showing no interest in
hearing any department-saving proposal from the union. A veteran of more than
100 public-safety contract negotiations, Dammeier
said four meetings over less than two months may be the shortest. Dammeier also accused city leaders of deliberately
circumventing the city's registered voters. "The
city is moving at breakneck speed to try and get this back to the City
Council and get the sheriff in before the voters can weigh in on the
issue," he said. "We'll be back in court to address the city's
failure to comply with (San Bernardino Superior Court Judge Bob Krug's) order
to fully meet and confer." At
the same time, controversy surrounding the debate continues to flare since
police supporters and Rep. Joe Baca, D-Rialto, protested at City Hall against
the council Feb. 17. Near
the end of the council meeting on Tuesday, council members revealed they had
received scathing e-mails from disgruntled police supporters. Councilwoman
Deborah Robertson read aloud an e-mail she said she received in which the
author referred to her and Councilman Joe Sampson, both of whom are black, as
benefiting from "quotas" and alluded to physical violence targeting
Councilman Ed Scott. Both
Robertson and Sampson publicly denounced the letter as evidence of
"hate" pervading the pro-police faction. Dammeier said he's determined to get the issue
back into court, where the union has enjoyed success, within the month. "We're
going back to court to force the city back to the table because fully
exhausting the discussion means both parties discuss issues," said Dammeier, who contends he was never able to deliver his
proposal for saving the Police Department. Dammeier said he'll file a petition next week to
return to court. The
city plans on moving ahead with the procedure articulated in the impasse,
which provides seven days to find an impartial "fact finder" of its
choice. Toby
Polinger, an outspoken supporter of the police who
has gathered signatures for an initiative signatures currently being vetted
in the City Clerk's Office said the city will do whatever it can to act
unilaterally. "The
council talks about the majority," Polinger
said. "If the majority really wants the sheriff, why not let them
vote?" Warner
said the city's interest now is in expediting the potentially dangerous
uncertainty that has loomed since the September vote. "The
impasse is necessary for a timely resolution of this conflict. (The dispute)
is not doing the city any good," Warner said. |
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