The Village of Algonquin and the union representing local police have agreed to the terms of a contract, resolving what was becoming an increasingly bitter dispute that was headed for arbitration.
Negotiators for the village and Chapter 78 of the Metropolitan Alliance of Police had been trying to work out a contract for the village’s 22 union police officers since early this year with no success and were scheduled to take the matter to arbitration in January.
Relations hit a low point during the police department’s open house Sept. 27, when officers carried signs in the parking lot and handed out pamphlets outlining what they said were the unfair provisions of the contract the village was offering.
A lunch meeting Monday between the union’s president, Officer Chris Filippini, and Algonquin human resources specialist Todd Walker, a member of the village’s negotiating team, got things moving again.
Walker said that with no lawyers present, the two were better able to understand what the other wanted and realized they were not that far apart.
According to Walker, terms of the four-year contract include raising the starting salary for new officers; 2 percent across-the-board raises for other officers; a uniform allowance of $1,200 for first-year officers and $500 per year for all other officers; quarterly uniform allowance updates; and quarterly labor-management meetings.
The union voted in favor of the contract Monday, and the Village Board voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the agreement.
Police Chief Russell Laine said both sides still need to sign the paperwork but said, “That is just a formality.”
The most important change in the contract, according to Laine, is the salary increase, which brings Algonquin in line with what other communities pay.
Laine said salaries for new officers went from $27,272 to $30,500. Salaries for veteran officers on the high end of the pay scale will increase to $45,325.
“We needed to do that to be competitive and to keep the highly qualified people that we’ve selected and trained,” Laine said.
Laine said work was not interrupted because of the contract dispute but said both sides are glad to have this behind them.
