photo by: Journal-World Illustration

Lawrence Police Department logo, Lawrence City Hall

After months of negotiations between city staff and the local police union, city leaders have approved an employment contract for officers and detectives valued at approximately $11 million annually.

The city’s employment agreement with the Lawrence Police Officers Association covers wages, benefits and working conditions for officers and detectives and expires at the end of this year. Under the new agreement, salary and retirement costs for the police department’s 128 officers and detectives total about $11.05 million, according to a city staff presentation to the City Commission. The additional compensation provided to officers and detectives for next year averages about $2,477 per employee, or an increase of about 3 percent, according to the presentation.

As part of its meeting Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission received and approved the employment agreement between the LPOA and the city. Contract negotiations lasted more than four months, and Vice Mayor Lisa Larsen said she appreciated the efforts of both sides to come to a resolution.

Larsen also said she supported the city’s efforts to make sure the police department’s employment contract does not erode certain management rights guaranteed by the city’s resolution regarding employee unions.

“I’m really glad to see that we’ve brought it back to be more in line with our resolution,” Larsen said. “At least, that’s what I get from the entire process.”

The city’s resolution regarding employee unions guarantees certain management rights, such as the right to direct the work of employees; maintain the efficiency of governmental operations; and initiate, prepare, certify and administer the budget.

City Manager Tom Markus said the city’s three priorities in the negotiations were restoring all management rights set out in the city’s resolution; ensuring equitable benefit and compensation policies among city departments; and providing pay that was market competitive.

Both Markus and LPOA Chairman Drew Fennelly described the agreed-upon contract as fair and spoke about the significant amount of time invested in the discussions by both sides. Markus also noted that the bulk of the negotiation meetings were public, which is a change from years past.

“In an era where transparency is becoming more and more important to our public, it was my view that we should have these discussions in public,” Markus said.

Fennelly said that, by his count, LPOA and city representatives spent well over 100 hours at the negotiating table. He said the discussions had been long and difficult, but he thanked city staff members who participated.

The 36-page contract is available on the city’s website, and the following is a summary of some of the provisions agreed to as part of the contract for years 2019 and 2020.

Pay plan: The agreement will fund the contract’s existing pay schedule. As laid out in the current contract, the pay plan provides a starting salary of $44,813 for officers and automatic pay increases of 2.5 percent each year until the officer reaches $77,150. The pay schedule provides a starting salary of $54,181 for detectives and automatic pay increases of 2.5 percent each year until the detective reaches $80,433. Those maximum amounts will increase in 2019 because of an agreement to add a step to the pay plan (see below). In addition to the automatic 2.5 percent pay increases, officers and detectives who meet expectations on their annual reviews will receive another 2.5 percent merit increase, for a total of 5 percent per year. Officers and detectives are also eligible for a limited number of 2.5 percent pay increases for attaining special skills or education achievements known as competencies.

Pay raise: The agreement will add a new step to the pay plan for officers and detectives, increasing the maximum pay for the most senior officers and detectives by 2.5 percent beginning in 2019. Police officers will also receive an across-the-board general wage increase of 1.5 percent in 2020, which will increase each step in the officer pay plan by that amount.

Overtime and double-time pay: Rules for overtime, in part, will be that time worked in excess of the normal daily scheduled shift shall be paid at time and a half. If an officer or detective accumulates overtime in excess of one shift during a work period, the chief of police will have the option to alter the work cycle, the six-month period where officers have the same patrol assignment, with reasonable notice. If an officer or detective works more than 12 consecutive hours, hours beyond the 12th hour are paid at double time.

Longevity pay: Employees hired before Jan. 1, 2019, will receive a longevity payment upon completing five years of service. Longevity payments will be $250 for five to nine years of service, $500 for 10 to 14 years, $750 for 15 to 19 years and $1,000 for 20 or more years of service. Employees hired after Jan. 1, 2019, will not be eligible for longevity.

Shift differential: Shift differential pay for officers that exists in the contract will be maintained. Officers who work the third and fourth shifts are paid a shift differential of 50 cents per hour. Officers who work the second shift are paid a shift differential of 25 cents per hour.

Funeral expenses: The agreement calls for the city to pay reasonable funeral expenses up to $10,000 for officers or detectives killed in the line of duty.