Dormont Police, Council Sign Contract

For the first time in nine year, Dormont’s police department and council have come to an agreement for the police contract without going to arbitration.

Members of both council and the police department met Wednesday afternoon to sign the three-year contract.

“When people negotiate in good faith, good things come out of it,” said council President Bill McCartney. “It’s a very fair contract on both sides.”

Sgt. James Briglia of the Dormont police said he’s happy the process was carried out smoothly and that all sides were able to work together.

“The professionalism we have in the borough manager’s office, and his ability to communicate with all sides is really what got us to this point,” Briglia said. “It also was because of council’s ability to work with us, and with each side understanding that the other has a job to do.”

The contract terms begin on Jan. 1, 2013 and end on Dec. 31, 2015. Officers will receive a 2.75% pay raise this Jan. 1 and 3% increases each of the following years on January 1.

The contract also calls for a $50 uniform allowance increase in 2015 and brings borough police officers back into the same health insurance plan with Highmark that covers other borough employees.

The total cost to the borough for the pay and uniform increases over three years will be $52,622.72, with a projected savings of $9,508.18 on health insurance costs.

Borough manager Jeff Naftal said he is happy with how the negotiations went, and with the resulting contract.

“Good contracts come when both sides are reasonable, and that’s what happened here,” Naftal said.

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