By Martin B. Cassidy
Staff Writer
August 28, 2007
With police seeking higher salaries in upcoming contract negotiations, town officials say they recognize they must maintain competitive salaries to successfully vie for a smaller pool of aspiring police candidates.
While the union's four-year contract doesn't expire until June, talks are expected to begin next month.
Town Labor Relations Director Al Cava, who helps negotiate employee contracts for the town, said recruitment efforts have become more challenging because of higher salaries for officers in nearby New York and a shrinking number of applicants for police jobs in Fairfield County.
"We want to recruit the highest caliber candidates and I think we've done a good job of doing that and want to continue to do that," Cava said. "We're not completely ignoring Westchester County because they are our next door neighbors and we need to be mindful of what's going on."
Greenwich Police Chief David Ridberg said that current police salaries and benefits are in line with neighboring Fairfield County departments, but that wage increases can aid in attracting more and better candidates.
Last year the town's list of eligible candidates for entry level police officer was exhausted, and police undertook an aggressive recruiting effort to fill empty jobs on the force caused by retirements and other departures, Ridberg said.
"I'm more than happy when the wages and benefits rise for new recruits and the officers who work for me because it aids recruitment and retention," Ridberg said. "But contract negotiation time always puts people on edge ... No one side gets everything they want."
Police union officials want higher salaries and better benefits on par with nearby New York departments, said Sgt. James Bonney, president of the Silver Shield Association, which represents the department's 153 uniformed officers.
Bonney said that Greenwich officers with five years on the job currently earn a salary of $63,112, tens of thousands less than some of their Westchester counterparts in comparable communities.
The difference in salary impacts the quality of the recruits the town can attract, Bonney said.
"It's all up to the negotiations," Bonney said. "I believe the town of Greenwich has aggressively negotiated contracts with the union in the past and done such a good job they have negotiated themselves right out of the market for top quality police officers."
In addition to higher salaries, Greenwich officers will likely seek longevity bonuses, and higher town contributions to their pension plans, Bonney said.
Many departments give officers longevity bonuses at the 5- 10- and 15-year service marks, Bonney said.
Ridberg said that aside from money, the department offers aspiring officers enough variety and advancement opportunities because it is larger than many Connecticut police departments.
Assignments to the Marine Division, as a neighborhood resource officer or to one of the relatively large number of detective positions in the Greenwich police department provide opportunities many smaller departments lack.
"I think its a terrific department and a perfect sized department to allow room for growth," Ridberg said. "I know every one of my officers by name, but there is a happy medium between all the excitement a large department offers, and the work blend is a nice blend of criminal and public service calls and appeals to those who want to run out and catch bad guys and to those who want to help people."
Last year the department faced staffing shortages after it reached a low of 143 officers, 13 fewer than its recommended number of 156, officials have said.
Since then the department has hired 14 officers, which after retirements are factored in, brings
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