HAMILTON POLICE DEPARTMENT
Police officers get pay raise
City avoids binding arbitration; officers get 3 percent increase.
Friday, March 28, 2008
HAMILTON — Almost seven months after its last contract expired, the city of Hamilton and the Fraternal Order of Police agreed upon a new contract at the zero hour.
The contract between the city and Lodge 38 of the Fraternal Order of Police ended Aug. 29, 2007. The officers have been working without a contract since.
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Get latest headlines via RSS feeds"It was a lot longer than we would have cared for," said lodge President Hamilton police Detective Brian Robinson.
Both parties approved the agreement Wednesday, March 26. The matter would have been decided in binding arbitration Thursday had the agreement not be reached.
City Manager Mark Brandenburger said he was glad the city avoided binding arbitration. He said arbitration is a gamble because the result is not a compromise but either the city's complete proposal or the union's complete proposal.
The contract will take effect immediately and include 3 percent retroactive pay increase dating back to September. It also will include health insurance benefits paid for 85 percent by the city and 15 percent by the officers. The city had rejected a fact-finding report on Jan. 28 primarily because of a proposed 88/12 split on health insurance premiums.
"The major emphasis was wages and health care," Brandenburger said.
Robinson said that while the union would have preferred to pay only 12 percent for insurance, this contract does guarantee steady insurance premiums through September 2010.
Additionally, the contract also prevents the city from layoffs or attrition and sets the department at 114 officers.
