New three-year contract gives Grove City police officers 3% annual pay increase
Grove City Council has approved a new three-year contract with the city's police officers, who are represented by Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge No. 9.
Council voted unanimously Feb. 7 to authorize the mayor and city administrator to enter into the new agreement, which runs from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2024.
The contract gives officers a 3% raise each year it is in effect, which is the same annual increase the officers received in the previous three-year contract that expired at the end of 2021.
The contract covers 52 police officers, eight sergeants and two lieutenants.
Unlike the previous contract, the city and the union were able to hammer out an agreement quickly.
The last contract expired Dec. 31, 2018, and officers worked without a contract as negotiations continued. The final agreement was not approved until February 2020 and was retroactive to Jan. 1, 2019.
The previous contract negotiations moved to a fact finder and both sides agreed to the fact finder's report.
With the 3% yearly pay increase in the new contract, the annual base salary for a patrol officer in Grove City will increase from $100,693 in 2021 to $110,030 at the beginning of 2024, City Administrator Chuck Boso said.
A sergeant's base salary will increase from $116,043 in 2021 to $126,804 at the beginning of the third year of the contract, he said.
A lieutenant's base salary will increase from $130,790 in 2021 to $142,918 in 2024, Boso said.
The total cost of the agreement is projected to be approximately $1.6 million, he said.
"This contract got done pretty quickly because both sides came to the table prepared to work," said Brian Toth, a member of the FOP Capital City Lodge No. 9 board of directors and liaison to the Grove City membership. "These officers here in Grove City, they go out every day and they do their job.
"These wages – what a police officer does, it's something out of the ordinary," he said. "These officers put their lives on the line every single day, and they do a darn good job."
The union appreciates the recognition from city leaders and residents of the officers' dedication as represented by the salaries offered in the contract, Toth said.
Boso said his analysis of salaries throughout Franklin County shows that Grove City's officers earn the highest base salary among local communities, although the numbers are close.
The city of Columbus offers the next highest base salary of $102,674 for its officers, he said.
The city of Gahanna currently is engaged in contract negotiations, and if those talks result in a 3% annual increase, that community's police officers would receive a base salary of $102,662, Boso said.
Dublin's base salary for patrol officers is $102,458, he said.
"You can tell they are all pretty comparable," Boso said.
Those numbers do not include the fringe benefits offered to police officers, he said.
Under the new contract with its police officers, Grove City will continue to pay 85% of employees' insurance premiums. The officers will pay the remaining 15%.
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This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: New three-year contract gives Grove City Division of Police officers 3% annual pay increase
