MONROE - Monroe police officers won't be getting a salary increase, under a contract ratified by the Monroe Common Council on an 8-to-1 vote Tuesday.
The 2011-12 contract with the city sworn police officers union included no increase in salary schedules. Alderman Thurston Hanson voted against the contract.
Overtime compensation can still be taken as time off, but officers may now carry over up to 75 hours of comp time from one year to the next. Compensation in excess of 75 hours will be paid out. Previously, all unused comp time was paid out at the end of the year.
Officers may also accumulate an unlimited amount of sick leave; under the previous contract, sick time was limited to 100 days.
This is the last of three union contracts the city had to settle in 2011.
In a letter to the city, Alderman Michael Boyce said the new labor agreement, along with the other union contracts, help provide the city with "a degree of certainty and savings with respect to its labor costs for the next 18 months."
The new agreement, however, does nothing "that encourages or provides incentives for individuals to demonstrate excellence in their own job performance," Boyce wrote.
Boyce added that he would like to see a process begun, starting with non-unionized employees, which would give individuals "the ability to affect their compensation through their own merit."
Such a system begins with, and would require, reciprocal trust between employees, department heads and the council, Boyce wrote, and he encouraged council members to demonstrate their appreciation for city employees "by personally thanking them" for the good work that they do.
The 2011-12 contract with the city sworn police officers union included no increase in salary schedules. Alderman Thurston Hanson voted against the contract.
Overtime compensation can still be taken as time off, but officers may now carry over up to 75 hours of comp time from one year to the next. Compensation in excess of 75 hours will be paid out. Previously, all unused comp time was paid out at the end of the year.
Officers may also accumulate an unlimited amount of sick leave; under the previous contract, sick time was limited to 100 days.
This is the last of three union contracts the city had to settle in 2011.
In a letter to the city, Alderman Michael Boyce said the new labor agreement, along with the other union contracts, help provide the city with "a degree of certainty and savings with respect to its labor costs for the next 18 months."
The new agreement, however, does nothing "that encourages or provides incentives for individuals to demonstrate excellence in their own job performance," Boyce wrote.
Boyce added that he would like to see a process begun, starting with non-unionized employees, which would give individuals "the ability to affect their compensation through their own merit."
Such a system begins with, and would require, reciprocal trust between employees, department heads and the council, Boyce wrote, and he encouraged council members to demonstrate their appreciation for city employees "by personally thanking them" for the good work that they do.