An arbitrator’s decision has ended a lengthy police contract dispute in New Lenox, a village official said Wednesday.
Village Administrator Russ Loebe said that the village’s previous contract with the Metropolitan Alliance of Police expired in April 1997 and that discussions of salary and working conditions began with negotiation, moved to mediation and ended with both sides requesting binding arbitration earlier this year.
The new contract approved by the arbitrator runs from May 1998 through April 2000. Salaries are based on the village’s proposal of an average 6.98 percent raise in 1998, followed by increases of 5.19 percent in 1999 and 5.3 percent in 2000, Loebe said.
The union proposal had called for a 14.75 percent raise in 1998, followed by increases of 3.92 percent in 1999 and 4.29 percent in 2000.
The arbitrator’s acceptance of the village salary offer will save $170,000 over the three-year life of the contract, Loebe said.
Under the new contract, an entry-level officer will make $28,770 a year, and the average officer with 10 years of experience will make $41,715, he said.