Carpentersville sergeants to get 2 percent raise, other benefits

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Carpentersville leaders and the police union for sergeants have inked a deal that gives the eight sergeants a 2 percent pay raise, links their holiday pay to their pensions and gives them the ability to carry over additional compensation time.

The new contract expires April 30, 2014. The previous deal started May 1, 2010, and expired Tuesday.

The starting salary for a sergeant who isn't taking advantage of the education incentive is $82,576 a year, according to Deputy Police Chief Michael Kilbourne. With the 2 percent raise, that same sergeant will make $84,227.52 for the life of the contract.

But a sergeant who took advantage of the education incentive and makes $87,089.60 as a starting salary, would make $88,831.39 during the contract.

A new feature in the contract lets the sergeants carry over 80 hours of compensation time into the new year. That's up 40 hours from the last contract.

"They just wanted to be able to have some additional hours and to not have to use it in the (same) year," said Linda Mogren, the village's human resources manager.

The village will withhold a portion of sergeants' holiday pay for their pensions. The holiday pay will also be added to the sergeants' base pay to more accurately compute retirement or disability benefits.

That change was done in response to an audit by the Illinois Department of Insurance, which recommended the change, Mogren said.

Contract negotiations started in March and required two meetings, Village Manager J. Mark Rooney said.

"It was just a status quo, one-year, 2-percent pay raise," Rooney said. "It was just a matter of trying to get the deal done with 2 percent."