Arlington Heights police approve new contract

Arlington Heights police officers have approved a new three-year contract that includes no pay increase the first year, village officials said Tuesday.

The Arlington Heights Village Board, which has struggled with tight budgets in recent years, will vote on the deal Tuesday, July 5.

The contract, which runs until May 1, 2014, gives no pay increase the first year, but officers will receive 2 percent raises on May 1 and 1 percent on Nov. 1 during each of second and third years, said Robin Ward, assistant village attorney.

The 84 sworn police officers who are members of Metropolitan Association of Police Chapter 510 has been working under the terms of their previous contract, which expired May 1. The union represents all officers under the rank of sergeant.

Tom Henderson, president of the chapter, confirmed Monday that the membership had voted in favor of the agreement.

“Negotiators met more informally this time,” Henderson said. “There was more openness on both sides of the table and no animosity.”

He did not want to reveal contract terms before the village board vote, but did confirm what Ward said.

“We’re always happy to have a labor agreement in place; it’s in everyone’s best interest,” Chief Gerald Mourning said.

The village’s 99 firefighters approved a new contract in April, and each received a $1,000 signing bonus for settling before the expiration of the old contract. The terms for pay raises are similar to those in the police contract.

When the village budget was passed in April, the only salary increases it included were for the one third of village employees who moved a step on the salary schedule.