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News covering policy and issues related to city and county governments in the Ozarks.

Springfield Council Accepts Arbitrator’s Recommendation, Police Union to Decide Monday

KSMU
Springfield's historic City Hall building (Photo credit: KSMU)

A mutually agreeable collective bargaining agreement is in sight between the city of Springfield and the Springfield Police Officers’ Association (SPOA), Fraternal Order of the Police Lodge 22. 

The city council received and accepted an arbitrator’s recommendations on the issue of wages during a Friday meeting, according to a news release. Wages was the one issue that was unresolved and led to an impasse between both entities in September. A hearing was then held before the arbitrator in January.

In general, the recommendations include the following:

• FY 15: A wage and benefit increase equivalent to an annualized 1.08% given to some union members effective April 1, 2015.

• FY 16: Equivalent of a 3.5% increase used for adjusting some salary steps and .827% across-the-board increase. No merit steps will be funded for union members during FY 16. Effective July 1, 2015.

• FY 17: Equivalent of a 3.5% increase used to fund merit steps. The
remaining funds will be used to fund an across-the-board
increase to reach the 3.5% total increase.

Union membership will now decide whether or not to ratify the full collective bargaining agreement. That meeting is scheduled for Monday. City Council could then consider adoption as early as Tuesday.

The release notes that the basis of the agreement comes after a 2013 ordinance that provided for certain regular employees of the city to engage in collective bargaining. That was in light of the 2012 Missouri Supreme Court ruling bolstering the bargaining rights of public employee unions.

In October, council approved the city’s first collective bargaining agreement in history with the Southern Missouri Professional Fire Fighters Local 152. Also known as the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 152, it is the bargaining unit of the Springfield Fire Department.