Ardmore city commissioners approved a contract between the city and the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #108 during their regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday night. A new collective bargaining agreement is negotiated each year between the city and the police union.
FOP members ratified the agreement recently after having started the fiscal year that began July 1 without a contract. The new collective bargaining agreement includes a 4.4 percent cost of living increase for all FOP members effective July 1, 2008, and a 3 percent step increase on officers’ employment anniversary dates for those who have not topped out in their salary range.
All non-union city employees received a similar 4.4 percent cost of living increase on July 1. City Manager Dan Parrott said non-union city employees who have not topped out in their salary range got slightly smaller anniversary-date step increases.
Ardmore’s Director of Human Resources LeAnn Collins said nine officers are currently topped out in their salary range and a few more will be topped out by the next negotiation period. The city plans to conduct a new salary survey in 2009 to ensure all city employees’ wages are competitive with those in comparable communities, but Collins said Ardmore was currently “at or above our sister cities.”
Other highlights of the city/FOP contract include:
• An additional step added to the sergeants salary range;
• Additional pay of $50 per week for those captains designated to be on call by the chief;
• Additional pay of $130 per week for investigators designated to be on call by the chief. This on-call pay policy replaces a previous policy that gave investigators an additional day off after they had been on call for a week;
• Additional pay for those corporals and sergeants who are temporarily assigned duties of a higher rank. Corporals assigned to sergeants duty will be paid an extra $1 per hour. Sergeants assigned to captains duty will be paid an extra $2 per hour. Officers must complete an 80-hour training course before they are eligible for acting pay.
• Eliminating the essay portion from the testing process for corporals and sergeants;
• Converting additional pay for education, certification, incentive and assignment pay from a monthly to hourly amount; and
• Eliminating firearms instructor/armorer and the clandestine lab tech classifications from the incentive pay group to the assignment pay group.
FOP President Cpl. Bobby Moore said in an interview last week that the collective bargaining agreement contained some disappointing elements. However, the agreement will end months of negotiations and restore certain pay issues, such as officers’ clothing allowances, that have been held up due to the lack of a new contract.
In other business, the commissioners:
• Declared the week of Sept. 17 “Constitution Week,”
• Appointed Brenda Allen, Kenneth McGee and Tiffany McGee to the H.F.V. Wilson Community Center’s advisory board;
• Approved applying for a federal hazard mitigation grant; and
• Met in executive session with their attorney, Margaret Love, concerning two cases pending in federal court.
Steve Biehn, 221-6546
steve.biehn@ardmoreite.com
