AUSTINTOWN Police contract includes raises

The union and trustees had trouble agreeing on staffing requirements.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- A new three-year contract agreement with township trustees calls for police to receive annual raises while helping to pay for health care.
Full details about the contract have not been released to the public. Police and township officials, however, said the contract calls for officers to receive 3 percent annual raises.
Officers also agreed to take part in the township's new health-care plan and pay a $20 monthly premium for single coverage and a $30 monthly premium for family coverage. The township paid the entire premium in the past.
Attorneys gave a written form of the contract to police Friday, and the union expected to review it over the weekend.
Township Administrator Michael Dockry said trustees are expected to approve the contract either at their meeting Monday or at their meeting Nov. 10.
Lt. Emil Grahovac, spokesman for the police union negotiating committee, said both trustees and the union compromised to reach the agreement. He added that the union's decision to accept the new health-care plan and help pay for premiums was "a big move on our part."
Police and trustees have been negotiating for about a year. The last police contract expired Dec. 31.
Staffing requirements
The union had said part of the reason negotiations lasted so long was because an agreement couldn't be reached on staffing requirements. It had sought to add a clause to the new contract that would require a minimum number of officers to work each shift.
Trustees had said they didn't want to add the clause because they may have to lay off officers in the future to save money.
Dockry said the clause is not in the new contract.
Township officials have said that without budget cuts, the township will have a $1.2 million deficit at the end of this year. They have laid off several township employees, including two police officers, and have chosen not to replace four officers who retired.
The deficit is a result of increases in the cost of insurance, workers' compensation and wages, and decreased revenue, township officials said. The township also had to take out a $500,000 loan after paying $460,000 to Phar-Mor in November for an unexpected tax refund.
A 2.5-mill levy to raise money for the police will appear on the Nov. 4 ballot.
The last police contract was one of three contracts with township unions that expired Dec. 31, 2002. Trustees have since approved new contracts for firefighters and police and firefighter dispatchers.
Contracts with the township's secretaries and road workers expire at the end of this year.
hill@vindy.com