Warren patrol officers agree to cut pay

By Ed Runyan

The agreement reduces pay to $23.05 per hour and brings back four officers.

WARREN — The city’s 33 police patrol officers agreed Tuesday to reduce their pay for the remainder of this year to 2008 levels and accept changes in health care to save the city $166,000.

The Ohio Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association voted 19-12-2 in favor of a plan that brings back four laid-off police officers and prevents eight others from being laid off Sunday.

The agreement eliminates the 4- percent pay increase officers started getting Jan. 1.

The four officers laid off June 21 — John Greaver, Nick Carney, Brian Martinek and Jason McCollum — will return to their jobs “immediately,” said Randall Weltman, an attorney for the union.

The union had the option of preventing the layoff of the eight officers but not bringing back the four laid off last month. Twelve union members voted in favor of that proposal, and two voted to reject any changes to the contract, meaning that all 12 would be laid off.

The city laid off 20 police officers Jan. 1, along with 15 firefighters (four of them were vacancies not filled) and nine other city employees. It threatened to lay off eight more police officers without the agreement approved Tuesday.

“No one’s happy about giving up wages, and that’s what this is about, but [the patrol officers] believe in this city and want to get manpower back on the streets,” Weltman said.

The agreement reduces the pay of an officer with at least three years of service to $23.05 per hour — down from $23.97 per hour.

It reduces the pay of an officer with two to three years of service to $20.75, reduces the pay of an officer with one to two years of service to $18.44 per hour, and reduces the pay of an officer with zero to 1 year of service to $16.14 per hour.

All officers in the department have more than three years of experience.

Doug Franklin, the city’s safety-service director, said the agreement leaves just one more union to approve a concessions package — the union representing 23 ranking police officers — captains, lieutenants and sergeants.

Gary Cicero, the city’s human- resources officer, says that union is being asked to make concessions that will save the city another $66,000.

runyan@vindy.com