Ohio police agency says no thanks to pay raise

AKRON (AP) — A small Ohio police department has offered to forgo raises next year, citing the bad economy and the financial pressures facing residents.

The union representing the Springfield Township Police Department near Akron suggested to township trustees that their current contract just be extended a year.

Officer Mike McQuillen, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 157, says asking for a raise didn’t feel right with so many people losing jobs and homes.

“It would be irresponsible for us to go to the bargaining table and bargain for more,” McQuillen said.

Officers have watched other communities lay off deputies and police because of budget problems, he added. And township residents generously supported recent police levies, McQuillen said.

The union, with about 25 members, also didn’t want to see its share of health insurance premiums increase, and this was a way to freeze the amount, he said.

Township trustees and the union signed off on the extended contract last week.

“It says a little about their character,” Police Chief John Smith said of the offer.

The deal means the police union’s current three-year contract, slated to expire Dec. 31, will run through 2010.

Cities around Ohio are facing difficult times paying for safety services.

Firefighters in Xenia in southwestern Ohio agreed last week to pay cuts and a salary freeze that will save six from layoffs.

Mansfield has canceled its annual Labor Day parade because the city says it doesn’t have the money to pay police for traffic control.