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The Pontiac Police Officers Association (PPOA) has overwhelmingly ratified a 4-year agreement which achieves major gains on two fronts: officers' salaries and the controversial issue of residency requirements. The MAP negotiated contract, which is retroactive to January 1, 2000, brings annual raises of 4 percent, 4 percent, 3 percent, and a whopping 7 percent. These hikes translate, in fourth-year base wage dollars figures for veteran officers, to:
A memorandum of understanding has provided the city with the option of establishing the latter two positions and to train bargaining until personnel in a variety of medical serves programs. All officers and detectives will be eligible, with senior employees being given preference when positions become available. The burdensome and volatile issue of residency was put to rest by a compromise that allows employees covered by the agreement to reside within 20 miles from the nearest boundary of the city of Pontiac. Current employees of the bargaining unit who are "grandfathered" because they were hired prior to Nov. 30, 1984 and currently reside outside the 20 mile limit, are not required to comply with the limit. "It's a great contract because of the wage increases and the residency features," declared PPOA President Doug Strablow. "The positive feeling is reflected in the ratification vote, which was 3-to-1 in favor. "The salary hikes are good; really good. Even what some people thought looked like takeaways are offset by being folded into the final year of the contract. The fact is, we were at about $41,000, but we will be at $49,000 by the fourth year. That's big!" He described the residency resolution as "huge," pointing to the long-time conflict over the question of just how restricted officers would be in their choices of where to live. "Residency has been a difficult issue for 10 years and this improvement satisfies most everyone. It's a huge step in the right direction. The PPOA bargaining team included, in addition to Strablow, Vice President Santiago Serna, Treasurer Josephine Fagan, Secretary Maurice Martin, and former Vice President Brian Thomas (who was promoted to a non-unit position during the course of negotiations). Strablow praised the key role played by MAP in the bargaining process. "The union did an excellent job," he declared. "Fred Timpner (MAP Executive Director) and Jim Brown really know their stuff and their experience and expertise were just what we needed. "We are very pleased with what they did for us." Brown is a former Pontiac officer and PPOA president. Timpner termed the contract "very fair to all concerned and very progressive." He added that the PPOA bargaining team worked very well together with the MAP professionals. |
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