City, BPD agree on new contract

It was all smiles Wednesday night as the city council approved the collective bargaining agreement between the city and the fraternal order of police. The new agreement will serve the city and police department beginning in January 2003 and will last until the end of 2006. \nFOP President and Chief Negotiator John Kovach explained to the council why he thought the negotiations prior to the council meeting went so smoothly.\n"The city treated us very well in the contract negotiations," Kovach said. "From day one we were on the same page with the city."\nAfter the meeting, Randy Williamson, the assistant chief of police in Bloomington said he felt the manner displayed by both groups helped the negotiations.\n"The reason they did well was because the officers acted professionally and knew what they wanted," Williamson said. "No one was whining."\nNone of the council members spoke of any problems they had with the agreement, and primarily asked the negotiators for clarification. \nThe council inquired about officers ability to donate their leave to other officers.\nUnder the agreement, officers may donate up to six days of leave per year to a bank. When an officer has used up to half of his or her own days for a Federal Medical Leave Act-approved event, he or she may then use days from the bank.\nLinda Runkle, the corporation counsel for the city, explained that this was a revenue-neutral provision, and the same number of police officers will still be on patrol for the same amount of time. \nCouncil member Jason Banach asked Runkle why other city offices do not have a donation program such as the police. Runkle explained that many civic officials cannot replace the job of a colleague as easily as one police officer replacing anothers shift.\nBecause the police department does not have a "sick bank," the ability to save sick days from year to year, this provision will help any officer who is faced with an unexpected family emergency.\nAfter the council thoroughly understood the provision, they further displayed their approval.\n"I think that's a great provision. Thank you both or doing that," Council member David Sabbagh said.\nAnother element of the agreement was the pay scale. Runkle said the outgoing agreement was very conservative fiscally, and the new agreement is more responsive to the departments requests. \nUnder the bargaining agreement, the base salary for an officer first class will be $36,638 for 2003 and $38,051 for a senior police officer. In comparison, an officer in Indianapolis starts at $33,420 according to the U.S. Police Officer Compensation Survey.\nWilliamson also said the police did not get a raise in the last bargaining agreement.\n"The FOP wasn't out of line in what they were asking for," Williamson said.\nBanach praised the police department and suggested other council members go on a ride-along with the police, to see what kind of patience they have to have.\n"I'm going to go on another one real soon because I need some adrenaline in my life," Banach said.\nNOTES: In other news, the council confirmed the Economic Revitalization Area designation at 3000 E. Covenanter Drive. This grants a 10-year tax abatement for one building in the Covenanter Hill district.