New contracts for Gurnee police officers and sergeants

Gurnee village trustees have approved contracts with two unions representing police officers and sergeants.

Officials said the separate three-year deals will run through April 30, 2015. Administrative Cmdr. Jay Patrick said the contracts cover 49 patrol officers and five sergeants.

Under the patrol officers’ contract, they will receive a 2.1 percent pay hike in the first year. Unlike previous contracts, the officers are not in line for fixed raises in the remaining two years.

Instead, future pay hikes will be based on the Consumer Price Index for the Chicago area and any market adjustment necessary in officer base salary when compared to similar departments locally.

Patrick said the five Gurnee police sergeants will receive lump-sum bonuses this year instead of traditional percentage-based pay increases. Like the patrol officers, any pay hikes in the contract’s final two years for the sergeants will be tied to the Chicago area’s CPI and base salaries offered at similar police departments, he said.

Chief Kevin Woodside said the contract was an example of reasonable people coming together and placing the community’s needs first.

“I have the utmost respect for the officers and sergeants at the table focusing on a fair agreement that made sense for both sides,” Woodside said.

In a change from past negotiations, Gurnee officials said, representatives of both employee bargaining units agreed to meet with village representatives without lawyers through most of the process. That move saved the village several thousand dollars in legal fees, they said.

Mayor Kristina Kovarik said taxpayers can be assured the police contracts were fair and justified.