ALLIANCE – The city has approved a new contract for patrol officers that includes hourly wage increases and a lump sum payment for working during the coronavirus pandemic.

Starting Jan. 1, officers represented by the Ohio Patrolmen's Benevolent Association with four or more years of service will earn $26.48 per hour and get roughly a 3% pay increase in 2024 and 2025.

"We negotiated, I think, a pretty substantial wage increase in the first year," said Danielle Chaffin, who works as general counsel for the Ohio Patrolmen's Benevolent Association. "Officers are seeing anywhere from a 12% to 16% raise. The 16% is the starting rate, (...) it's going to increase by approximately 16%."

Under the previous contract which spanned from 2020 to 2022 officers with five years of employment were paid $23.62 an hour and got about a 2% pay bump with each year.

A patrol officer's starting rate will be $23.11, $24.22 after one year of employment, $25.46 after three years and $27.54 after eight years. These officers will also get 3% raises in 2024 and 2025. Previously, the starting hourly rate for patrol officers was $19.12, $21.42 for second-year employees, $22.45 for third year and $23.62 for fifth year.

Chaffin said the association represents 25 employees at the Alliance Police Department.

Mike Dreger, the city's safety-service director, said negotiations between the city and the union took place in October and November, and the groups met four times.

"The biggest thing that everyone...

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