Naperville to rehire laid-off cop
Naperville City Council members Tuesday agreed to rehire one of six officers laid off late last year.
The rehire of the most senior of the laid off officers was made possible by a structural change that eliminates a police commander position that will be vacant from a recent retirement.
Police Chief David Dial said he is drafting a new organizational chart for the department that he expects to present to City Manager Doug Krieger within three weeks. The officer, who was not named, would fill a patrol shift that would begin at midnight, and would be paid about the same as before the layoff.
“Because there are going to be some moving pieces over there we wanted to be sure to give ourselves sufficient time to evaluate all of our options,” Krieger said.
Councilman Bob Fieseler, who has opposed the layoffs, said he’s pleased to see a change in the air.
“I was initially concerned about the moving pieces and why we would be making this decision now when there’s going to be more changes in the works that could lead to rehiring more than the one,” Fieseler said. “But I’ll take them one at a time.”
Councilman Grant Wehrli also supported the rehire but only because he believes the specific officer, being the most senior, should have never been let go.
“I’m going to support this, but I wish the sixth officer was never laid off in the first place. Not because I disagree with the rif, but the sixth officer happened to be one of the best officers on the force,” Wehrli said.“I don’t know this firsthand, but talking with those in the law enforcement community, they have said this was one of the best cops on the force. There are other cops that should have been let go. I hope the sixth officer is still available and willing to come back to the city of Naperville.”
With the decision, the city will cover the retiring commander’s health care benefits for a year, yet still see a savings of about $9,000 the first year and as much as $30,000 in subsequent years.
The savings alone, however, was not enough to sway Councilman Dick Furstenau, who cast the lone dissenting vote.
“I appreciate that we’re making some changes but I think its premature to bring anybody back,” Furstenau said. “I’m obviously in the minority but I don’t believe that’s what we should be doing at this point in time.”
Police Union President Vince Clark also weighed in on the rehire.
“The citizens of Naperville are the ones who benefit in the long run, although the staffing levels are still well below the level they should be. The NFOP thinks this is a step in the right direction and we are eagerly waiting to review the city’s unfair labor practice response. This all could have been avoided if certain members of city council waited for the budget to be fully balanced. They made a harsh decision, without considering the legal ramifications. Now the taxpayers have to pay for something that could have been avoided if they would have bargained in good faith. We had four officers leave as a result of a severance package and two more left to pursue different areas of law enforcement. The council was advised of these departures, yet they chose the RIFs over common sense. This is one of six spots that should be filled, sooner than later. The council reduced the manpower ordinance to a number they felt was safe for the taxpayers, now they have an obligation to maintain it.”
The layoffs were announced in November, days after the council approved the pact that gave officers raises of 3.3 percent for 2009-10 and 3 percent in both 2010-11 and 2011-12. The deal also included a 50 percent increase in police personnel health insurance premium contributions, to 15 percent from 10 percent of the total premium cost. Members of the union, which represents 137 Naperville officers, argued the subject of layoffs never came up during negotiations and the final contract agreement was based entirely on the city’s own offer and have since been awarded a hearing before the Illinois Labor Relations Board.