The new contract includes a 3 percent increase in the police seven step pay range for each year of the contract starting Jan. 1, 2019 through Dec. 31, 2021.
Officers will also receive a 2 percent pay increase in each of the first two years of the contract. In addition, officers will advance a pay step each year pending a successful annual evaluation.
City officials said the new contract reflects changes in language and deletes provisions affected by recent court decisions such as the fair share fee.
The contract also:
- Allows the placement of a lateral entry officer based on the officer's training, education and experience.
- Removes the 10 percent health insurance premium cap for officers; and changes to officers paying the same health insurance premium as nonunion employees.
The small Warren County village has struggled with recruiting/retaining officers for the past several years as other communities have tended to poach officers for their departments after they get experience in Carlisle. There are seven full-time officers, including the police chief; one reserve officer; and a part-time officer.
Police Chief Michael Bruck said the new wage scale will not make Carlisle the highest paying department and officers will still make less than surrounding communities.
“Carlisle has been making great strides to increase officer pay,” Bruck said.
Starting Jan. 1, Bruck said a new officer will earn 19.67 an hour or $40,913 a year plus benefits such as health insurance, pension, etc.
In February 2016, the starting wage for a Carlisle police officer was $16.07 an hour or $33,425 a year.
He said the village plans on hiring an additional full-time police officer in 2019.
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