Police patrol officers reject city’s contract offer

Patrol officers at the Bangor Police Department have voted to reject a contract package offered to them by the city.

The proposal called for a 6.3 percent wage increase to top-level employees, but offered no wage increase for employees with less then two years on the force, according to Union Steward Michael DiMonaco.

The proposal was simply unacceptable DiMonaco said, and was voted down 31-10.

Police and the city have been negotiating the contract since February and this was the first official vote, he said.

The city originally offered a 4 percent wage increase to all patrol officers. During mediation it was decided that such a proposal would not be accepted and the offer was ammended to 6.3 percent for patrol officers with more than two years on the force.

DiMonaco said he was not surprised by the group’s decision to reject the contract offer.

“We want equity with the school department. Teachers received a 10 percent increase for the next three years. We feel the job we do and the demands it carries with it is as valuable as the school department,” said DiMonaco.

Robert Farrar, director of administration for the city, said the teachers’ increase probably included benefits.

“I think that 10 percent was the total impact of the package. It’s possible that they placed a monetary value on items such as increased holidays or sick days and that the figure was included in that 10 percent figure,” said Farrar.

Farrar said he was surprised at the rejection and believed that a fair and reasonable package had been negotiated. He said he felt the mediator and the union representative from Teamsters Local 340 supported the package that was offered.

DiMonaco said that the city’s pay scale was behind that of similar-size cities and expressed concern that the department would not be able to attract qualified police officers.

The police officers now pay a percentage of their health insurance benefits. DiMonaco said the city’s original offer called for the officers to pick up half of the increased cost of their insurance.

DiMonaco said that the city, however, had altered that offer and agreed to pay for the entire increase of the cost of health insurance.

There are three steps in the department’s pay scale.

Newly hired officers receive $329.43 a week. After six months officers receive $343.74. After one year the pay increases to $365.47 and after two years it increases to $388.02. The highest step carries a salary of $429.67.

The city and the department’s negotiating teams will return to the bargaining table soon and attempt to reach an agreeement, DiMonaco said.