Algonquin board approves new contract with police

The Algonquin village board has approved a new four-year contract with the union that represents its police.

The deal, ratified unanimously by union members last month, will be retroactive to May 1 and run through April 30, 2013, according to the village and the union.

The contract offers annual salary raises from 3 to 6 percent and few other changes from the previous four-year deal, village officials say.

"Our goal is that we wanted to walk away with a contract that recognized the challenges the village is facing in its budget," Assistant Village Manager Jenna Kollings said. "We also wanted to maintain competitive salaries."

This year, a starting officer will make $49,852 and get a bump to $52,750 next year. An officer with four years' experience will make $62,099 this year and $65,822 next year. An eight-year veteran makes $80,062 this year and collects $82,464 next year.

"Where we ended up was realistically where we thought we should be because of the economy," said Det. John Bucci, president of Algonquin's police union. "This was our first contract that had a unanimous vote."

Most officers who have worked fewer than eight years will receive annual raises of about 6 percent this year and for the next three years, according to village documents.

Officers who have worked between five and seven years will get the biggest raises on the salary schedule after their eighth year of service.

For example, the salary of an officer with seven years under his belt will jump from $73,756 in year three of the contract to $88,000 in year four - at 19 percent, the largest raise on the chart.

Officers with eight or more years of experience get comparatively modest increases of between 3 and 3.6 percent each year.

Negotiations began in January and ended last month.