New Mount Prospect police union contract includes drug testing

Mount Prospect trustees have approved a collective bargaining agreement between the village and the Metropolitan Alliance of Police Mount Prospect Chapter 84, which represents its patrol officers, that for the first time includes drug testing.

Acting police Chief Michael Eterno told the board Tuesday that the contract expired at the end of 2016. The new contract will run through 2019.

He complimented the union for its handling of the negotiations.

"They were very reasonable and fair with their expectations," he said. "And it made the whole process, I think, go much smoother."

Eterno said the goal was to be in line with neighboring communities. The contract calls for salary increases of 2.4 percent in year one and 2.35 percent in years two and three. There will also be an increase in top-end pay of $500 the first year, $550 in the second year and $600 in year three.

Longevity pay will increase $200, and incentive pay for investigators was bumped up $1,000 to $3,000.

New in the contract and something Eterno said has been discussed for many years is random drug testing. This, he stressed, is not meant to be punitive, but to identify any problems so they can be addressed.

Eterno said the two sides had basically reached consensus about January or February on terms of the contract. What held up the agreement were the legal issues surrounding the random drug testing.