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| City Council Approves Police Contract |
Not everyone on the Galesburg City Council was okay with a group of people getting what technically could seem like pretty big pay raises.
Aldermen Monday night at a special meeting voted 7-1 to approve a new contract with the city's police union. The agreement is retroactive to January of 2009, and is for three years, with 3.25% raises for each of those years.
City Manager Dane Bragg says many of the details are similar to that of a contract worked out a couple months ago with local firefighters, including a first-time change in health benefits he believes will save the city a lot of money.
"Employees would contribute $40 monthly to single health coverage, which is currently paid entirely by the city," Bragg said. "New employees would no longer receive premium contributions for the retiree health insurance program. In lieu of that guaranteed retiree health insurance that's currently provided, employees hired on or after January 1 of 2009 would take part in a retiree health savings program."
The lone "no" vote came from Third Ward Alderman Russell Fleming, who tells WGIL the new contract essentially includes a 6.5% pay raise this year, since it's retroactive to last year, and that's too much.
"This year, with the economy, nobody else is getting raises," Fleming said. "I don't know that (the police officers) deserve them this year. That's not a blanket statement. Not for all years."
Aldermen Monday night also approved a revised agreement that will see the city pay part of the $70,000 cost of essentially the removal and replacement of rail crossing lights at the Cedar Street Bridge on South Henderson Street, once a half-million dollars in bridge replacement work there is done. |
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| 03 09 10 by Newsroom |
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