Union Billings police officers have a new contract after working without one for the past six months.
The Billings City Council voted to ratify the new three-year agreement Monday night, which gives officers a 3 percent cost-of-living increase each year, but no increase in other benefits.
Ward 3 representative Bill Kennedy voted against the new deal, saying it doesn’t do enough to retain current officers or attract new ones.
“The police contract may be a win for the management, but it does not address the lowest pay compared to other cities in the state,” Kennedy said. “I feel that if pay was comparable to the top one or two cities then we would not have as many officers resigning from the force. Last year we had five retirements, but eight resignations from officers deciding to go elsewhere. Why? Pay, overtime, morale problems. When are going to address these issues?”
But the rest of the council voted for the new deal, expressing relief that it was finally settled.
“People think council members may be involved in this negotiation, but we are not. This is our HR Department and administration that negotiates with the union, so I trust that both entities came together and reached an agreement finally. It took longer than everyone hoped but it was not for lack of diligent working on this,” said Ward 1 representative Kendra Shaw.
New Mayor Mike Nelson said he is happy to have the issue settled and said he’s looking forward to working with the Billings Police Department.
“I know that as we go forward over the next three years of this contract, we will be working diligently as a council to bring in new sources of revenue, so that we can solve some of these financial problems,” Nelson said.
Last month, 87% of police union members voted in favor of accepting the new contract.
