City approves new police contracts

Avon Lake City Council members approved three collective bargaining agreements for Avon Lake Police Department officers and dispatchers at their Sept. 25 meeting.

The new three-year agreements between the city and the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Lodge No. 25 Avon Lake Division went into effect July 1 and last through the end of June 2020.

The three bargaining units include sergeants, lieutenants, officers and detectives, who were given 2 percent raises, while police dispatchers were granted a 2.5 percent raise, according to Joe DeTillio, Avon Lake human resources director.

“We changed the health care,” DeTillio said. “Health care costs constantly rise, rise and rise and the city can’t raise the price of anything, so we had to balance it out a little bit and the unions were real good with cooperation.

“We increased longevity and we increased uniform allowances. The normal things that come up from time to time.”

Ward III Councilman Larry Meiners praised DeTillio and city officials who have worked over the past year to reach a new agreement with the FOP.

“I think that a job well done should be issued to our HR director, HR Joe (DeTillio), the mayor, Steve Pressley our finance director, and I’m sure that our law director also participated, Mr. (Abe) Lieberman (law director), as well as some outside support that we had,” Meiners said. “We were given some information a little while ago about this tentative agreement and I think a job well done should be issued starting with HR Joe and working down the line.”

The new agreements come as a result of extensive negotiations between the city and union representatives which began in late spring 2016 and were recently completed, according to John Shondel, chair of the human resources committee on Council.

DeTillio said negotiations with Avon Lake Firefighters Local 1361, the union representing the city’s firefighters, are presently on hold, but he is hopeful an agreement will be reached in the next few weeks after the union is able to hold another meeting with its members.