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The contract with the Carmel Police Benevolent Association (PBA) is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2015 and will run to Dec. 31, 2021.
Salaries will rise by 2.25 percent annually from 2015 to 2018, and rise by 2 percent annually from 2019 to 2021. Beginning in April 2019, union members may also get a 0.25-percent annual supplemental salary increase if the town collects mortgage-tax revenue that exceeds certain benchmarks.
In absolute dollars, union members' salaries range from the $40,000's range for first-year hires to more than $100,000 for higher-ranking officials.
For health insurance, employees hired on or before Dec. 31, 2014 will pay for 18 percent of their premiums. Employees hired on or after Jan. 1, 2015 will pay for premiums based on a sliding scale tied to longevity, with a 12-percent rate for new hires that climbs to 20 percent after five years of service. However, sergeants, detectives and detective sergeants each have carveouts that automatically place them at the 20-percent rate.
Employees who decline health-insurance coverage, according to the contract, will be allowed to receive cash payments of $2,500 in lieu of individual coverage and $5,000 in lieu of family coverage.
The new contract also calls for annual longevity payments, which will be effective in 2016 (retroactively) before increasing by $100 increments in 2018 and 2020. For 2016, the retroactive annual payments are $1,150 after five years of service; $1,475 after eight years; $1,800 after 12 years; and $2,700 after 17 years. By 2020, the respective figures will be $1,350, $1,675, $2,000 and $2,900.
The PBA's previous formal contract expired on Dec. 31, 2012, while 2013 and 2014 were covered by an award from an arbitrator after the two sides could not agree to a new one by themselves.
Carmel Town Supervisor Kenneth Schmitt, who called the new deal “good news," noted that the negotiations only took a few months.
Town Board members Frank Lombardi and John Lupinacci negotiated the deal, with Carmel PBA President Michael Sheil representing the union.
A copy of the contract can be viewed on page 3 of the board's meeting packet, which can be accessed here.
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