NEW HAVEN, Conn. — New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker and Police Union President Florencio Cotto announced on Tuesday a tentative agreement regarding a new six-year contract covering all sworn New Haven police officers.
According to a release from the city, the proposed collective bargaining agreement between the City of New Haven and the police union, Elm City Local, pertains to 326 existing officers. It has been submitted for formal review, consideration and a ratification vote by members of the union.
The contract would be submitted by Elicker to the full Board of Alders for review and approval if it is ratified by the union membership, the city says.
Elicker notes that the city’s police officers do an outstanding job every day under difficult circumstances. He says they put their lives on the line to keep the city’s residents and streets safe.
“This contract will provide our officers with a well-deserved raise, help retain existing officers, help attract and recruit new officers and strengthen the police department’s ability to keep our communities safe,” Elicker said. “This is a contract that all sides can be proud of and one that I hope both the union membership and Board of Alders will support.”
Cotto says that the union encourages all its members to “review the details carefully and participate in the upcoming vote scheduled within the next few weeks.”
The proposed contract calls for a six-year agreement to provide stability and predictability for officers, the police department and City of New Haven, according to the city, which says the contract would take effect retroactively and cover a period spanning from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2028.
It would also include annual pay increases to reward and help retain current officers. The city says officers will receive annual salary increases, beginning with retroactive increases of 2.5% for fiscal year 2022-2023 and fiscal year 2023-2024, followed by a 5% increase in fiscal year 2024-2025 and each of the following fiscal years through 2028. Retroactive payments will be allotted for both base bay and overtime, according to the city.
Another key highlight of the potential contract is a new starting salary to attract and recruit new officers. New recruits will enter the police academy with a $70,000 starting salary beginning in fiscal year 2024-2025. The city says that it is nearly a $20,000 increase from the current starting salary of $50,745.
The starting salary will be $73,500 in fiscal year 2025-2026. In fiscal year 2026-2027, it will be $77,175, making new officers in New Haven among the highest paid in comparison to other similarly sized cities in the state.
New work schedules will also provide a better work-life balance for officers, as patrol officers will shift to a 5-3, 5-3 schedule, with five days on and three days off. Administrative staff will transition to a 4-3, 5-2 schedule with a shorter, six-hour workday on the fifth day. Patrol officers currently follow a 5-2, 5-3 schedule, while administrative staff follows a 5-2, 5-2 schedule.
According to the city, the new contract will introduce a Deferred Retirement Option Plan to help retain more officers. Under this plan, eligible officers will have the choice to participate in the new DROP program, which will allow them to collect for retirement when they are eligible to retire while also enabling them to continue working for the department.
The city says the option will only be accessible to officers who reach retirement eligibility and choose not to retire and instead to keep working for the police department. Under the new contract, monthly pension benefits would be deposited into a DROP account, and officers would be able to receive a lump sum or rollover pay at the end of the DROP period.
Furthermore, as part of the new contract, healthcare plan updates would align with those of other municipal union contracts, meaning new deductible structures and cost-sharing measures will be adopted. These would include adjustments to employees’ Health Savings Account plans.
The new contract would also bring about online crime reporting to improve crime-fighting efficiencies. The city says residents will be able to report minor, non-emergency crimes online, which will allow officers to focus on more pressing cases in the field. Certified police officers would then review online reports and follow up accordingly, according to the city.
Lastly, the new contract would include new disciplinary procedures for officers charged with a felony to ensure the necessary accountability. The city says that in the rare instance when an officer is charged with a felony, they may be placed on unpaid leave, and if the charges are "nolled," dismissed or if the officer if found not guilty, full back pay would be awarded.
According to the city, New Haven’s current budget for fiscal year 2024-2025 fully funds 389 sworn police officers, and it is estimated that the tentative agreement would result in a one-time cost of around $5.6 million to cover retroactive pay, including overtime, and another $7.5 million to fund the proposed salary increases over the life of the agreement through fiscal year 2027-2028.
“This is a critical investment we need to make as a city to compensate our police officers fairly, to be competitive with other police departments in the state and ultimately to help ensure the safety of our residents,” Elicker said.
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Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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