Police Get a Deal

The head of the police union says his members aren't happy with the deal. Annie DiMartino says she won't vote for a 6 percent increase. Sometimes, the sign of a good compromise is everyone hates it.

If you missed it, the police union and the mayor have agreed to a contract that gives the union a 4 percent raise on Jan. 1, and a 2 percent raise on July 1. (Note: those percentages are flipped from what you might have read in today's papers. Wong says the above numbers are accurate). There is no retroactive raises for '07 and '08.

The police union doesn't have to like this deal, but its members should be praised for accepting it. Big time. I'm amazed they pushed aside retro pay. The 4 percent is a pretty good number (a very good number), but leaving the retro pay behind is a huge move for them. Can't be understated. If you want a symbol for doing the right thing, the police union throws out a big one today.

From my simple calculations, according to the budget the patrolmen are being paid $3 million this year. The overall increase from both raises is about $180,000. (That hasn't been confirmed, and is merely a ballpark figure. Don't take it to the bank.)

But one of the big factors lurking behind all of this is the back pay that would have come with retroactive raises. If DiMartino is opposed to the 6 percent in total increase, how would she have felt if there were retro raises? Let's say the patrolmen salaries were $3 million in 2006. (Sure, that might not be accurate, but without raises, and layoff since then, the number is probably higher. Just bear with me.). Four 2 percent raises (in 07, 08, 09, 10) would cost the city a total of $247,000, or $67,000 more than the deal as structured. A good chunk of that would have been back pay ($121,000 according to two years of 2 percent increases starting at $3M). So, the city got the union to move away from retro pay. A huge move.

So, good for the union for agreeing to it, and good for the mayor for getting them to agree to it. I don't get the feeling they'll be holding hands together anytime soon, but it's a step forward for the city.

Now, what will the council do? If DiMartino is the voice of the majority, do they shoot this down? That might be the question of the day.