ORO VALLEY, Ariz. (KGUN) — The Oro Valley town council chambers were once again packed with a sea of blue shirts, all of them supporting a pay raise for Oro Valley Police Department officers and sergeants.
On Wednesday the mayor and town council unanimously voted to give them a pay raise after delaying the vote twice. They voted to delay any action on pay on May 7 and then decided to take off an agenda item regarding the issue on May 21.
“I’ve always believed that supporting our officers and being fiscally responsible are not mutually exclusive,” Mayor Joe Winfield said during the meeting.
Kristofer Knapp, the president of the Oro Valley Police Officers Association spoke before the mayor and council, giving them praise for a new plan they put the finishing touches on on Wednesday before the meeting.
“Worked out great for us. It’s been a very long process,” Knapp said.
The raise starts at a little over 8 percent, which has been in negotiations since November of last year.
“A few weeks ago it was not looking, it was not looking how the way things ended out,” Knapp said.
He said he believes the pay increase is going to help with recruitment and retention.
“We have a plan that we believe is fair and competitive and will keep us competitive as the years go on to help us recruit, retain officers, and be able to continue to provide the services that this community has come to know and expect,” Knapp said.
With the new agreement, Knapp said officers are getting a pay increase ranging from 8.8 percent to 13.6 percent. Sergeants, he said, are getting an increase ranging from 9.6 percent to 13.7 percent.
“The market is not controlled by us. We have to be able to compete with the other surrounding agencies,” he said.
Currently OVPD said starting officers make over $57 thousand. Marana PD said starting officers make over $62 thousand and Tucson PD said their starting officers make over $61 thousand.
Oro Valley Town Manager Jeff Wilkins said the agreement gives officers and sergeants increased benefits and will keep the town’s step system.
The agreement is going to last four years and Knapp said the pay raise is going to kick in in July. He also said the on-call pay is going up, something he said the union and town council met in the middle on.
“We do believe that this is a fair and competitive plan that reflects the priorities of this town with public safety,” Knapp said.
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Andrew Christiansen is a reporter for KGUN 9. Before joining the team, Andrew reported in Corpus Christi, Texas for KRIS6 News, Action 10 News and guest reported in Spanish for Telemundo Corpus Christi. Share your story ideas with Andrew by emailing andrew.christiansen@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, or Twitter.
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