UNION — At its Feb. 12 meeting, city of Union council adopted an ordinance to enter into a three year contract renewal with the Fraternal Order of Police, Ohio Labor Council, Inc. for the period of Jan. 1, 2024, and ending Dec. 31, 2026.
According to City Manger John Applegate, negotiations with the city’s police union have taken place over the last four to five months. Part of the negotiations included an increase in the base salary for police officers.
The contract includes a 5 percent pay increase for each of the next three years.
“It all deals with trying to recruit police officers,” Applegate said. “We haven’t been very successful, so we have to get our wages up to be competitive. We are still not quite where we would like to be.”
The police union and its negotiator accepted the reasons the city offered for the level of pay it could afford, according to Applegate.
“You said the market adjustment showed those amounts in the contract,” said Vice Mayor John Bruns. “Were those adjusted amounts going to affect the budget we passed in December?”
Applegate reminded Bruns that during the budget discussion it was stated that the city was engaged in negotiations with the FOP and didn’t know where those negotiations would end up.
During the term of the agreement, the entry level pay for an officer was set at $26.97 per hour. Officers hired at that pay level will be advanced 3 percent after six months of employment and 3 percent upon successful completion of the probationary period.
Officers hired at a rate higher than the entry level rate will remain at that rate until successful completion of the probationary period, at which time such employees would receive a 3 percent wage increase.
The contract includes a “no strike/no lockout” agreement between the city and the FOP/Ohio Labor Council, Inc. The contract also spells out details of labor – management relations, grievance procedures, discipline, arbitration, seniority and its termination, probationary period, the extension of a probationary period, layoffs and recalls, shift assignments, insurance, overtime, holidays and holiday pay, vacation, funeral and sick leave, and all other matters related to employment as a police officer with the city.
The ordinance also listed the 2024 pay rate of seven officers, the highest of which is $37.93 per hour or $78,894.40 and the lowest at $29.72 per hour or $61,817.60.
After council approved the agreement with the FOP, council also adopted an ordinance amending the annual appropriations ordinance for 2024 under emergency status.
Reach Ron Nunnari at (937) 684-9124 or email [email protected].
