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City, police
seeking pact; From the The sign, erected by the Dover Fraternal Order of Police,
conveys the message to the public that the city's 91 officers have been
working without a contract for more than a month. Eight unsuccessful meetings to negotiate a new three-year pact
have given way to a series of mediation sessions that will begin later this
month. But asking both parties where things stand yields two different
answers. "I don't think we're in the same situation as last
time," City Manager Anthony J. DePrima said,
referring to a 15-month process that stretched well past the June 2003
deadline into April 2004, when a settlement was reached. "Both sides were close enough where we felt bringing a
mediator in would be helpful. We got down to the root issues much quicker
than the last time." Mediation will begin Friday. But Dover FOP president Sgt. Daniel McKeown
said the lack of a contract hurts officer morale. "We're constantly told we're the finest law enforcement
agency in the state but when it comes to pay, we're not in the same range as
other forces," Sgt. McKeown said. "It's frustrating sometimes." Officers, who are required to keep working due to a provision in
the expired contract, will continue to protect and serve, Sgt. McKeown said. Retired "The city didn't give us their first economic proposal
until nine days before the contract expired," Mr. Mullaney
said. One of the major sticking points between the two sides is career
development - adding a new rank of master corporal. The new rank would create an additional pay grade, said Mr. DePrima, who would not disclose the city's position on
the matter. The FOP is pushing to add the rank - which would be higher than
the current corporal rank - to prevent stagnation within the department. "Currently, if you're a patrolman first class, the only way
to get promoted to corporal is if someone retires or leaves," Sgt. McKeown said. "Basically, you stall. It's not uncommon to stay there (at
patrolman first class) for 10-12 years. We're the only larger police
department in Under the FOP's proposal, a patrolman
first class could test to become a corporal after six years - the same as the
current program. However, if no position is available, the patrolman
automatically would be promoted to corporal after 10 years of service. The promotion would carry a 4 percent raise. Attaining the rank of master corporal would give the officer an
additional 5 percent. Currently, a promotion from patrolman first class to corporal
carries a 9.8 percent raise. Mr. Mullaney noted that the additional
rank would require a step increase for the ranks of sergeant, lieutenant,
captain and major, but he added that there are only a handful of officers in
those positions. Other issues remaining include health care and salary. The city, Mr. Mullaney said, is
offering 3 percent raises each year of the proposed
three-year deal, while the FOP wants 4 percent for the second and third
years. Mr. Mullaney noted that several
senior-level nonunion city workers have received double-digit raises over the
past three years through a pay-for-performance system, while officers are
asked to accept 9 percent over three years. Although the contract talks continue, Council President Beverly
C. Williams said she is confident the city and police can reach an accord
much more quickly than the last go-round. "Any time you get into long-term contract talks, it takes
time to work things out," Mrs. Williams said. "(Last time), we ended up with a contract the city could
live with and support financially and one that benefited the officers as
well." From KSLTV, August 15th, 2006 The One-on-one, police officers and firefighters are reluctant to
say much, but almost everyone in Out of frustration came a sign on the side of a van, claiming
ticket quotas were part of the raise criteria for officers. Things got worse
after the police chief suspended an officer tied to the van. The city says
Officer Matt Jones' suspension was for something else. The raise issue is evolving this week; the city council may
reconsider it, out of fairness. Jesse Garcia, Ogden City Council Chairman: "We should never
have a system that brings down the morale of any employee group. They should
all be treated fairly." For both police and firefighters, there has always been an issue
with the fairness among the rank and file. But some don't feel the issue
would have been addressed as quickly if it hadn't been for Officer Jones'
situation. In Council member Dorrene Jeske says she never liked that deal. Dorrene Jeske, Ogden City Council: "It's punitive. And
that's the thing I don't understand from the other council members, they kept
saying, we've got to be fair with all groups." City council may change the raise requirements, but the
suspension of Officer Jones is still a sore spot for some--possibly political
fodder for others. A Garden City,
police OK contract The union agrees to no pay raise for first 3 years and 5% raise
in last 3 to help cash-strapped city. From The GARDEN CITY -- An agreement by the police union to forego pay
raises for the first three years of its new labor agreement is essential to
helping stabilize Garden City's finances, City Manager David Harvey said. The six-year package, agreed to by the city and police union
last week, includes a 5 percent pay increase annually for the last three
years of the contract. The city and police union also agreed to allow pay for the
equivalent of 30 days of unused sick days to be placed into their pensions. The city also didn't ask for more money in co-pays on
prescriptions, which was agreed to in the last contract. "It was one of the keys to help stabilize the budget, an
integral part," Garden City, like most communities in Officials blamed the deficit on increases in health care,
pensions and gas and cuts in state revenue sharing. Statewide, $1.5 billion
has been lost in state revenue sharing over the past five years. To balance the budget, the city decided to move its library to
the "That was a big move on the council's part," Union President Randy Lorenzetti said the 25 members of the
Police Officers of Michigan bargaining unit understood the financial
implications and decided to delay the pay raises. "It was the only way we can guarantee a pay raise and help
the city at the same time," Lorenzetti said. "It's not that
extravagant of a raise, but we wanted to guarantee something." From 13 News, August 15, 2006 |
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