FORT PIERCE, Fla — Negotiations have begun between the Fort Pierce police union and the city of Fort Pierce.
City officials met with union representatives Thursday, just days after officers spoke up during Monday night's city commission meeting, voicing concerns over lower salaries than other departments, low retention and recruitment rates, and the impact on public safety.
Prior to Thursday, union representatives asked the city for a 15% salary increase. During negotiations, the city shut down that request, and countered with an eight percent increase instead.
Union officers haven't officially denied the offer, but did tell the city an 8% raise still wouldn't bring them up to par with other agencies.
"We really need to get to 15% to stay competitive with other agencies. We need to reduce this turnover, we need to increase our experience, to increase experience within all divisions within the police department and to truly tackle that issue we must get the salaries higher," Sgt. Troy Carter, a Fort Pierce police officer union representative told WPTV.
Fort Pierce
Fort Pierce Police is asking for higher pay, but the city says funds are low
Earlier this week, WPTV's Kate Hussey pulled the salaries of all police departments in our area and found Fort Pierce police officers are paid the lowest, yet respond to significantly more calls than some others paid higher.
During negotiations, city staff said they simply don't have the budget to provide a 15% salary increase.
"I think it's no secret that we're not Port St. Lucie, we're not the sheriff's office, we just don't have that type of revenue to come in," said HR representative Jared Swanson. "I think I mentioned to you before, the city that I came from, my HR budget was $40 million and the city's budget here is $58 million. My departmental budget was as big as the city's down here."
"We're asking the city to provide approximately 2.5% of the city's $58 million budget to fund the raises that we're requesting that will make us competitive with other agencies," countered Carter.
Fort Pierce
'Overworked and underpaid:' Police union asking City Commission for more pay
The city of Fort Pierce provided the following statement to WPTV amid the ongoing negotiations, reading in full:
“The City of Fort Pierce is committed to fostering a positive and collaborative relationship with the Fort Pierce Police Officers Union. We have recently completed a round of contract negotiations, and both parties remain engaged in ongoing discussions to reach an agreement that reflects the best interests of our dedicated officers and the community we serve. We appreciate the dedication of our law enforcement officers and look forward to continuing productive negotiations.”
The union also proposed several other changes to officers' current contracts, ranging from with topics ranging from overtime, stipends, clothing allowances, and protective gear and officer training.
Several of the contract changes proposed by union representatives were shot down by the city, while other items were tabled and a few others were accepted by the city.
Monday, WPTV’s Ethan Stein uncovered a survey from the union representing the city’s police officers. It shows that the problems within the department go beyond salaries.
Of the 65 people who filled out the survey, about 20 officers said they would rank the possibility of leaving the department in six months to a year as 8 or higher.
No decision was reached Thursday, as both parties decided to think about the offers and come back to the table at a later date, which hasn't yet been set.
