City Approves Contract with Police Union

City Approves Contract with Police Union

At the June 2 city commission meeting, the Tallahassee City Commission approved the collective bargaining agreement for police officers and investigators who are represented by the Big Bend Chapter of the Florida Police Benevolent Association, Inc (PBA).

Tallahassee City Manager Reese Goad noted the process was difficult, due in part to the COVID pandemic, but he believed the negotiation resulted in a good outcome.

As required by law, the PBA conducted a ratification vote among the bargaining unit members on May 27, 2021. The members of the Officer and Investigators bargaining unit voted in favor of the agreement with 168 (86.2%) voting yes and 27 (13.8%) voting no.  

The estimated three-year base cost for the wage component of the agreement is $2,685,453. In FY21, the estimated cost for the COLA buy down pension component of the agreement is $247,374. Funding for FY21 is included in the proposed budget. Budgetary impacts for remaining contract years will be reflected in future budget processes.

Contract Specifics

The collective bargaining agreement covering the Officers and Investigators Bargaining Unit expired on September 30, 2020. Negotiations with the PBA, the agent representing employees in these units for the purposes of collective bargaining, resulted in a successor 3-year agreement.

The new contract provides for the following economic package:

  • No pay adjustment in FY21
  • 2% Across-the-Board increase (ATB) for all members in FY22 and FY23
  • 4.5% step progression increase for eligible members and members in a two-year hold FY22 and FY23
  • 3% increase for members at maximum hold in FY22 and FY23
  • FY22 and FY23 reduction in pension contribution to 10.99% contribution rate for all bargaining unit members 
  • FY21 to FY23 Age 55 COLA for those with a pension entry date on or after 01/01/01 through 12/31/03. For all other participants with a pension entry date on or after 01/01/04, COLA remains at age 62.
  • Parental leave benefits beginning in FY21 to FY23 — 240 hours per year. Members that took parental leave for the period of October 1, 2020 through June 2, 2021 will be credited leave hours taken in accordance to the city’s parental leave policy.
  • Implementation of Plan D Pension: 
    • Pension entry date on or after 10/01/2021
    • 10.99% pension contribution rate
    • Accrual rate of 3% annually (27 years for maximum accrual of 81%)

In addition, there are a variety of administrative and operational changes in the Agreement including changes to the promotional examination process which includes administration of promotional lists, take home vehicles for bargaining unit members who reside in Leon County and adjoining counties, new hire physical fitness program, increase in physical fitness supplement, decrease in group health insurance premium contributions and other minor language changes.

3 Responses to "City Approves Contract with Police Union"

  1. Another shooting that involves a little six-year-old boy and yet the Mayor and Sheriff are making TV ads disguised as Covid-19 public service announcements. All the while the commission is voting on plastic ware.

    Why is the USA Today and mainstream media and fake news not converged on these elected officials wanting to know why the elected officials are focused on self promoting themselves through TV ads and not focusing on the crime rate problem and homelessness problem?

    Who paid for the ads, who produced the ads, why were those elected officials picked.to appear in the ads, and at whose direction were the ads produced?

    Day 2 and silence is golden.
    ,

  2. Looks to me like they got the shaft glossed over with some semantics. I’d check the Union negotiators’ bank account if I were them.

  3. We had to delay signing the contract until we were sure this entire defund the Police, antifa, and that other thing for which we painted a mural in the street had blown over.
    None of the 3 above things will matter any longer until around 6 months prior to the mid-terms. Just like every 2 year election cycle in the past (in case you did not notice the 2 year pattern).

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