Wauconda police sergeants to get raises under new labor deal
Wauconda's six police sergeants will get raises under a new, four-year labor contract.
The deal, approved by the village board Tuesday night, provides for 2.5% pay bumps that are retroactive to May 1, 2019. That's when the sergeants' last union contract expired.
For the 2020 fiscal year, the sergeants will get 2.75% raises retroactive to the start of this month. They'll get 3.5% pay bumps in 2021 and 3.25% raises in 2022.
Rank-and-file officers are set to receive the same percentage increases under a separate four-year contract approved in October 2019.
Sergeants in their first through fourth years of service at that rank will receive additional annual pay bumps averaging 2.5%. At the moment, this only applies to two sergeants because the others have held the rank longer, Village Administrator Kevin Timony said.
The board approved the pact with the Illinois Council of Police in a meeting held remotely because of the statewide stay-at-home order.
As of May 2019, the average annual pay for a police sergeant in Wauconda was $112,805. Under the new contract, the average salary for the 2019 fiscal year will retroactively increase to $117,444.
In addition to their pay, the sergeants' health insurance benefits are changing. The sergeants will contribute more toward premium expenses, and deductibles will increase, Timony said. Out-of-pocket maximum amounts will increase, too.
"All of (that) will help lower health insurance expenses for the village," Timony said.
Timony called the negotiations with the union amicable. The contract is overdue, he said, because the pact with the patrol officers was negotiated first. The winter holidays and the COVID-19 crisis also delayed an agreement, he said.