Elburn full-time police could get 2 percent raises under new contract

Elburn's full-time patrol officers and sergeants would get raises of 2 to 2.25 percent in a four-year contract the village board is expected to approve Monday night.

The contract would be retroactive to May 1.

Salaries would increase 2 percent in each of the first and second years, and 2.25 percent each in the third and fourth years.

Starting pay for a patrol officer in the first year is $51,951. Four years from now, that amount increases to $55,402. Maximum patrol officer pay at that time is $70,337, for someone with seven years experience.

Starting pay for a sergeant in the first year is $67,104. It tops out at $88,011.22 in the fourth year of the contract, for someone with seven years experience.

Officers and sergeants with 12 or more years of experience would then get a 1 percent pay increase.

The proposed contract also changes pay for times when the officers and sergeants are ordered to work past the end of their scheduled shift, making it different from voluntary overtime.

For voluntary overtime, officers will be paid time-and-a-half for any hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a week.

But in the last year of the contract, they will be paid time-and-a-half for any hours worked past the end of the regular shift, even if they haven't worked 40 hours in that week. During that year, the village is going to collect information on the impact of this on voluntary overtime, and what the provisional measure costs the village.

Elburn has four full-time patrol officer positions and three full-time sergeants.

In March, the board approved a three-year contract with its part-time officers. Eight were mentioned by name in the contract, and Police Chief Steven Smith said he expects to bump that up to 11 or 12 people. The contract was retroactive to May 2014, and pay increases were set at 2, 2 and 2.5 percent.

The village board meets at 6:45 p.m. at the village hall, 301 E. North St.