St. Charles, unions close to closing all deals

St. Charles may be only two weeks away from falling into a state of harmonious relationships with all of the city's unions.

City council members approved a new contract with the police union Monday night after about 45 minutes of closed-door deliberation.

In open session, every member of the council voted in favor of the new contract with the exception of Second Ward Alderman Betsy Penny, who was absent from the meeting.

"It is good to have it wrapped up," Mayor Don DeWitte said after the meeting. "I'm pleased the police officers' union has agreed to a wage freeze with their sister bargaining units."

The heart of the deal trades a wage freeze this year for a promise of no layoffs. Public Works, electrical workers and firefighters also have agreed to wage freezes this year. The remaining years of the new police contract all include raises, maxing out at 4.25 percent in 2013, unless the economy continues to falter.

At that point, a mechanism for layoffs is included in the contract. Layoffs would be based on seniority. The least senior police officers would lose their jobs first and also be the last ones recalled for employment if the city's finances improved during the layoff.

The vote closed the books on negotiations with all but one of the city's employee unions.

The new police sergeants' union joined the city in binding arbitration at a meeting on Friday. Those discussions are ongoing, but DeWitte said he believes a resolution will come before the city council at its first meeting in September. Just last week, both city and the sergeants' union said there were many issues to resolve between the two parties. The city had fought the formation of the union, making the switch to binding arbitration the an end to what has been a legal battle that has cost the city well into six figures of legal bills.