Naperville lays off six cops

Six Naperville police officers were laid off Monday less than a week after the city announced it had reached a three-year contract agreement with its police union that it could not afford.

The police union's attorney, Tamara Cummings, said the city “is compromising the safety of the community at a time when crime is dramatically high.”

Cummings, who serves as general counsel for Fraternal Order of Police Local 42, said the Naperville Police Department already is operating at “dangerously low levels.”

She said 10 sworn officer positions were eliminated in January eight of which were vacant and two of which involved officers who graduated from the police academy just days before learning their jobs were gone. Attrition has eliminated other positions as well, she said.

The six officers who received their notices Monday are scheduled to leave the department in 15 days. The city eliminated the department's six least senior people and one vacant position.

Chief David Dial said the layoffs were accomplished “through a reorganization of the department and service modifications. The police department will continue to respond to all emergency calls in an expeditious manner.”

FOP President Vince Clark, however, said all six officers were from the patrol division, and their departure will leave two of the department's midnight shifts without sufficient staffing.

Yet City Manager Doug Krieger said one patrol officer was released from each of the department's four shifts. One officer each was also released from the juvenile crimes division, traffic division and general assignment investigations.

The union represents 137 officers, including the six scheduled to lose their jobs.

Krieger announced the new police contract which gives officers raises totaling more than 9 percent over three years on Thursday. At that time, he said the contract resulted in “wage increases beyond what we wanted to pay or believe we can reasonably afford.”

He said the agreement could force the financially troubled city to lay off some officers.

The city followed through on that threat Monday.

“I can see no way to balance the budget without further personnel reductions,” Krieger said Monday, adding further cuts could come from any of the city's departments.

Cummings said officers began informing her of the layoffs in the morning, and she received an official letter from Krieger shortly after noon.

She said all the officers were told they were being laid off as a result of the new contract.

“I'm disappointed, but I can't say I'm surprised,” Cummings said. “I expected it to happen, but it's a little sooner than I expected.”

Added the FOP's Clark: “This is Doug Krieger's attempt to make an example of us for the city's other unions. This is obviously a show of force. This is not a union issue; this is about the safety of the citizens.”

Krieger said the layoffs should not be a surprise given the city's financial situation. It has implemented reductions in force for the past two years to balance its budget, he said, and currently projects a budget deficit of at least $5 million for the next fiscal year.

“We have emphasized our financial condition at the bargaining tables, and we have asked all unions to join our efforts to balance the budget,” he said. “The city's declining revenues require unions to understand this is not a time for wage increases.”

He denied any claims the city is trying to make an example of the police department.

“We would never play games or resort to tactics like that involving taking an employee's livelihood,” he said. “These are great employees. You don't mess with something like that to send a message. It's actually kind of insulting that someone would insinuate that to be the case.”

The police union has suggested the city is “disingenuous” in claiming it cannot afford the pay raises because the contract approved by both sides was actually presented by the city.

The new contract provides officers with raises of 3.3 percent for 2009-10 and 3 percent in both 2010-11 and 2011-12.

It also calls for a 50 percent increase in police personnel health insurance premium contributions, to 15 percent from 10 percent of the total premium cost.

The pact is retroactive to May 1, 2009, and runs through April 30, 2012.

The agreement was reached after nearly 18 months of talks and on the eve of a binding arbitration hearing, officials said. The arbitrator signed off on it as a “consent award.”

The city council had approved the offer in a 6-3 vote taken in advance behind closed doors.

At least two council members Richard Furstenau and Doug Krause have since said they would like to have the council take another look at the pact and vote on it in public.

“I don't know what there's left to look at,” Cummings said Monday. “It was their own proposal. ... Is it buyer's remorse? ... If so, shame on them.”

Union leaders said the city never raised the possibility of layoffs during negotiations and indicated the city is trying to “double-cross” its officers.

“Not only do the layoffs mean potentially less manpower on the streets, the department is also at risk of losing important specialty units,” Cummings said in the written statement. “These units are designed to target serious crimes such as drug-related offenses. The staffing shortages mean that police officers can no longer be proactive in preventing crime. The layoffs will put them in ‘reactive' mode with inadequate resources to react.”

She also said the layoffs could result in longer response times and put officers in greater dangers by reducing backups.

Cummings questioned the seriousness of the city's budget crunch.

“Apparently, the meager salaries of six dedicated police officers is worth more to the city than the safety and security of its citizenry,” she said in her statement. “The City of Naperville deserves better.”

Krieger said the city will not raise taxes or implement new revenue streams to pay for the raises in the new contract.

The union already had a membership meeting planned Monday night, and Cummings indicated members would use it to discuss their options.

Ÿ Daily Herald Staff Writer Justin Kmitch contributed to this report.

Six: Union says money worth more to city than safety