The union representing Denver police officers reached a tentative agreement Friday with Mayor John Hickenlooper’s administration to accept cuts to their negotiated contract to help the city close a projected $56 million budget gap.
The agreement does not affect base pay or base health care benefits but still reduces the contract for police officers by 2 percent this year and saves the city about $2.1 million, said Lt. Vince Gavito, president of the Police Protective Association.
He added that the Hickenlooper administration agreed to reimburse police officers for the givebacks in 2010 or 2011.
The union’s membership is set to vote on the proposal Monday through Wednesday.
Kelli Brough, the mayor’s chief of staff and one of his top negotiators on the safety contracts, said she could not divulge the details in order to give the union time to brief members.
“I’m appreciative of what a good working relationship we have,” she said.
Gavito said the package would suspend for this year premium holiday pay that officers receive for working on certain holidays. The officers also would lose some compensation they receive for equipment and uniforms. And officers would do without the day off they receive on their birthday or extra pay they get for working on a birthday.
“We did not take anything away from our base pay or our base benefits of our active or retired officers,” Gavito said, stressing that the money will be saved elsewhere.
He said that if the new contract is ratified, rookie police officers would no longer have to fear losing their jobs this year.
“Their jobs are safe, and we’re helping reduce the burden for city taxpayers,” Gavito said.
The police union was the last of three unions representing public-safety workers to respond to Hickenlooper’s request that they accept cuts to their negotiated contracts this year.
The union representing sheriff’s deputies refused to accept contract cuts, saying it had won salary increases in binding arbitration.
The mayor responded by firing 11 sheriff’s deputies and instituting a 30-hour unpaid furlough program for remaining deputies to achieve the cost savings that he said were needed. This week, the mayor and the union for the deputies talked about ways to reverse the firings. Now, the union is asking the deputies whether they would accept a 40-hour furlough to keep their colleagues on the force.
The union representing firefighters earlier this week reached a tentative agreement to reduce pay and benefits. The firefighters are scheduled to vote on that package next week.
Christopher N. Osher: 303-954-1747 or cosher@denverpost.com
