Lower police raise request may still be too high for city

The Kalispell Police Association requested a slightly lower cost-of-living adjustment during contract negotiations on Wednesday, but the city stood its ground.

The police union last month requested a 3-percent cost-of-living adjustment. On Wednesday, police asked for 2.5 percent in the first year of a three-year contract, which could be reopened in the second and third years.

The city, however, did not favor the lower pay raise.

“Your proposal for a COLA will affect your staffing levels,” City Manager Jane Howington said, referring to the recent situation between the city and its firefighters that nearly led to layoffs.

The city and firefighters’ union went to binding arbitration, the city lost on all counts, and the firefighters came back to the table with pay concessions to save the jobs of seven firefighters.

Howington noted that a 1.3-percent step increase is included in the police officers’ current contract, and the city offered to keep it.

Union negotiator and police officer Sean McRae said state statute requires a 1-percent increase each year for police officers, so the difference is only three-tenths of one percent.

City Attorney Charlie Harball later said he doesn’t interpret the statute that way. Instead, Harball said, the statute requires a minimum wage of $750 per month for police officers, and a 1-percent increase each year. Kalispell police officers are being paid above that threshold, Harball said.

“It really hasn’t been an issue because we’re paying [above] that anyway,” he added.

Howington said the city faces a budget crunch.

It will have to pay an additional $104,489 for the new 911 Center for fiscal year 2012.

It also will have to absorb a 10-percent increase in health insurance premiums.

The increased rates for the 911 Center are due to the 2010 Census. Kalispell’s percentage of the population within the county increased from 19.1 to 21.9 percent. The populations of Columbia Falls and Whitefish increased slightly, .27 and .23 percent, while Flathead County’s dropped 3.31 percent.

The city countered the union proposal with a three-year contract that could be reopened in a year if the economy improves.

The parties came to agreement on several issues, however.

They agreed to work together on a memorandum of understanding that would give city employees an incentive to take sick days only when one is actually sick.

Based on Howington’s experience in Dayton, Ohio, employees would be paid 100 percent of their sick days if a worker gives at least 12 months’ notice prior to retirement. Nine to 12 months’ notice would pay out at a 50-percent ratio; six to nine months at a 33-percent ratio; and less than six months would result in a payout of 25 percent.

This was a proposal that Howington would like to implement across all city departments. She said she thinks it would take several months to implement and would involve a city labor committee. She would like to have it finished by the fall.

The current sick leave policy pays employees 25 percent of their sick days when they retire.

Another area of agreement involves a shift bid proposal.

The city and the police union agreed to implement a proposal the union made in October that will allow officers to bid for either day, swing or graveyard shifts based on seniority.

Officers would get to bid on their first and second choices, and the shifts would rotate every four months. Police Chief Roger Nasset would have discretion to adjust schedules based on various factors.

The police officers’ contract expires June 30, but Howington hopes a new contract will be ratified by then.

Kalispell Police officers currently work four 10-hour days and then get three days off.

The city council will begin discussing its fiscal year 2012 budget in a workshop at 7 p.m. Monday.

Reporter Caleb Soptelean may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at csoptelean@dailyinterlake.com.