City and OPD Discuss Contract

Union officials representing the officers of the OPD and city officials sat down to opening discussions on the unions contract.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – The union representing the Oskaloosa Police Department and the City of Oskaloosa held a meeting to discuss the upcoming contract.

Hours of work, and length of shift were discussed along with vacations, including when vacations would be available in order to offer more flexibility for the officers.

Discussion on hours and compensation over time and overtime involving testimony in court and compensation for the officers. The discussion involved the matter of a minimum 2 hour appearance pay, as officers may be scheduled to testify on days off.

Leaves of absence, in particular, time for funerals was discussed, involving the description of what is immediate family. Personal leave was also discussed.

The city looked to make it consistent across the city, and instead of the 50% payout, the city is looking to move that towards 25% uniformly across the city.

Insurance was also brought to the table and a wage increase of 7% was proposed by the union. That amount was open to discussion by the police union said negotiators.

The city proposed a 0% increase in pay for officers.

Supplemental pay, severance pay, in particular, was brought to the table.

The city was looking to clarify what the probationary period would be for new officers, “making sure they are a good fit for everybody.”

The city was looking to clean up language in the contract that brought the department more in step with the current employee handbook.

The city and union then moved into a closed session for final negotiations of the contract. No contract agreement was announced at the time of this publication.