Hampshire ensures police bosses out-earn subordinates

Hampshire officials have created a system that prevents police subordinates from ever out-earning their supervisors. Under a proposal that the village board approved last week, the starting salary for a sergeant will be 5 percent higher than the top salary of a unionized patrol officer who has at least seven years of service. As well, lieutenants will make 3.5 percent more than a senior sergeant.

For example, a patrol officer with at least seven years of seniority makes $63,580.24 a year. As part of the deal approved last Thursday, a first-year sergeant will make $66,759 starting Jan 1. Meanwhile, a sergeant at the top of the pay scale will make $76,608, while a lieutenant will make $79,289.

The deal, which costs the village $17,000 a year, is effective Jan. 1, 2012. Once raises kick in next year for the rank-and-file officers on April 30, the supervisors will see a salary boost as well.

Sgt. Bryan Ferguson is thankful to Village Administrator Doug Maxeiner for taking the initiative to resolve the issue.

“The administrator actually came to us and said, ‘I’m going to work out a step increase deal for you guys,” Ferguson said. “(I’m) very appreciative of what he’s done for us.”

Seven patrol officers, two sergeants and one lieutenant comprise Hampshire’s police department.

Before the agreement took place, some patrol officers were approaching their supervisors’ salaries, with two making more than their bosses, Maxeiner said.

“With the economy, the way it was, the non-contract employees, they would be asked to balance the budgets on their backs,” Maxeiner said, adding that the patrol officers are the only unionized group in the village. “So it didn’t take long for the patrol officers to catch the sergeants and even surpass them.”

Nonunion employees had their hours reduced from 40 to 32 hours and also started taking furlough days to save money.

Patrol officers, meanwhile, continued to receive salary increases, per their collective bargaining agreement. But in the last year of their contract, they agreed they would not receive a raise, Maxeiner said. “They knew that the budget was suffering and I think they were gracious to step forward and say, ‘Let’s work on something that’s amenable to both parties.’”

Acting Police Chief Brian Thompson said the village has been working on this issue for the past six months and that it had no impact on police morale.

“It never was a morale issue — it was never any hard feelings,” Thompson said. “It was something identified through the village manager and myself. Basically, it was something that was going to be needed to be fixed.”