Mount Prospect employees agree to wage freeze to prevent layoffs

After two Mount Prospect firefighters were given layoff notices in December, the firefighters union and village officials went back to the negotiating table.

On Tuesday, both sides came to a new agreement to avoid layoffs - a 3.5 percent wage hike for all nonmanagement employees will be delayed for six months, and managers won't get a raise at all in 2010.

Unions representing public works employees, building inspectors, police officers and sergeants all agreed to the same wage freeze in December.

The police and public works unions agreed to the wage freeze right away while negotiations with the fire union stalled in December. The fire union reconsidered after the village issued the two layoff notices, Strahl said.

"These are one-year concessions," he said. "We don't know what is going to happen in 2010. Depending on our revenues, we may have to revisit this issue again next year."

There are 325 Mount Prospect village employees and about 190 of those are in unions. All nonunion Mount Prospect employees will also have the six-month delay for their 2010 wage increases, Strahl said.

The Mount Prospect Village Board approved the new fire union contract on Tuesday.

"The fact that Mount Prospect didn't have to lay off any people like other villages around us did, that really says something," said Trustee John Korn.

This concessions will save the village $263,000, said Assistant Village Manager David Strahl. About $111,000 of that is in the fire department alone.

Trustee John Matuszak called the fire union "unselfish."

"You gave up some money to help the town out," he said.

Other nearby villages have laid off employees to deal with decreasing revenues.

Hoffman Estates asked its police, fire and public works unions to each take $600,000 in concessions, including postponing raises in 2010.

Fire and public works agreed, but the police union - which was asked to forgo a 4 percent salary raise in 2010 that was negotiated into the current four-year contract - did not.

Recently, four Hoffman Estates police officers were laid off.

Other villages are also shrinking their staffs and payrolls. Lincolnshire recently announced that four employees will be laid off and Wheaton will lay off 17 workers. Naperville has eliminated 49 positions - including 27 that were vacant - as part of an effort to reduce their projected budget deficits.