Hamilton Township and its largest police union recently reached an agreement before its current contract expired.
Both township administration and P.B.A. Local 66, which represents Hamilton’s uniformed police officers and detectives -but not superior officers- recognized the constraints of the two percent cap on all local governments and worked together to relieve it.
Union members approved a three and a half year agreement that is set to freeze salaries for the next six month period and, over the course of the contract, hold salary increases to an average of 2.2 percent per year.
The agreement is also set to yield savings for Hamilton taxpayers.. By agreeing to a lower starting salary, an increase in the number years officers must be employed to reach top pay and making changes in employee health benefits and several other areas, the taxpayers are expected to see an estimated $1.4 million in savings over the life of the contract.
Mayor Kelly A. Yaede said she is proud to see police offers take concern over the taxpayer’s wallets
“Not only am I very proud of the outstanding work of our Hamilton Township police officers to protect and serve our community, but I also am very proud of their concern for our taxpayers, embodied by their recognition of the constraints our local government faces with the two percent cap law and by their commitment to bargaining in good faith to help achieve significant savings for our taxpayers,” Mayor Yaede said in a statement.
PBA Local 66 president Steven Gould said the union’s relationship with Township administration created a on open environment for contract negotiations.
“We are lucky to have the excellent working relationship that we have with the Township administration and we feel that with the difficult economic times that we are in, this contract and the concessions that we have made are more than fair to both us and the taxpayers of Hamilton,” Gould said in a statement.
