By: JENNIFER SPRAGUE , Press staff
08/12/2008
MIDDLETOWN - Police officers will get wage increases and $1.2 million in back pay as the result of an arbitration award between the city and the Middletown Police Union.
The Common Council held a special meeting Monday night to discuss the arbitration award. After a 45-minute closed-door session, council members unanimously voted not to reject the award, in effect, accepting it.
The agreement comes after two years of negotiations between the Middletown Police Union, Local 1361 and the city. In July 2006, the mayor reached a tentative agreement with the police union on a five-year police contract, but the council rejected it.
"It went before the Common Council, and they voted down the contract," said police union president Michael Marino. "They thought the money was too much."
The issue went to arbitration, and the first two years of the contract were debated. The wage increases for the final three years of the contract, which were not disputed, were agreed upon as follows: 2.5 percent, 2.75 percent and 3 percent.
The police union was asking for an average wage increase of 9.31 percent for fiscal year 2006-07, which began July 1, 2006, and 7.99 percent in 2007-08. This amounted to a total five-year base increase of between 22.8 percent and 28.4 percent, depending on rank.
The city offered 4.5 percent for each of the first two years, amounting to a total of a 17.25 percent increase over the five-year term.
The result of the arbitration awards the first year to the union and the second year to the city.
Marino said he was upset with the neutral arbitrator for not awarding both years to the union. There was an arbitrator representing the city, an arbitrator representing the police union and one neutral arbitrator.
"The neutral arbitrator should be ashamed of herself, and I hope she never gets a job again," he said.
Officers will receive a 9.31 percent wage increase for 2006-07 and a 4.5 percent increase for 2007-08. Because the contracts date back to July 1, 2006, the wages will be applied retroactively. More than $1.2 million in back pay and overtime pay will be awarded.
Before the award was approved, Middletown officers had not received a raise in three years and the department ranked lowest in pay among cities of comparable size, including Manchester, Enfield and New Britain.
According to the arbitration award, both parties were in agreement that the wages were too low.
"This result serves to move the Middletown police salaries substantially up in all the ranks within the comparable group, is mindful of the city's financial capability ... and goes a long way toward remedying the attraction and recruitment problems the city is currently facing," the agreement reads.
Despite the wage increases the police will receive, Marino said the union would have liked to win their proposal for the second year of the contract.
"In our opinion, they should have voted for our first contract," Marino said. "This whole process has been insulting to us. The city spent $175,000 to pay for attorney fees to save 3 percent in a contract in one year."
Marino said the union felt the council rejected the original contract for political reasons.
"They did it at the sacrifice of the men and women of the police department," he said.
At the time of the original contract, the Democrats on the council voted against it, and the Republicans voted for it with the exception of Earle Roberts, Marino said.
"I believe that man would vote against sunlight if it would save the city five cents," Marino said.
To contact Jennifer Sprague, call (860) 347-3331, ext. 222, or e-mail at jsprague@middletownpress.com.
© The Middletown Press 2008