Covington and the Fraternal Order of Police have reached a collective bargaining agreement that will give police a 3 percent increase in salary and extend sick leave, among other things.
Covington’s board of commissioners voted 5-0 Tuesday night for Mayor Joe Meyer to sign a collective bargaining agreement at next weeks Legislative meeting.
The agreement will cover the term from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022. It will cost an added $380,134.
“As you know, we’ve been at this for a while and have finally reached agreement with the Fraternal Order of Police,” Covington City Manager Ken Smith said. “I think it’s satisfactory on both sides. We’re requesting tonight that you’ll approve that contract and authorize the Mayor to sign it.”
- Granted a 3 percent increase in salary
- Added two additional days of vacation for people who have 28 years or more of service
- Step-grandparents qualify for bereavement leave
- The Fraternal Order of Police now gets Martin Luther King Jr. Day off work instead of Columbus Day
- Extended effective date for sick leave until the end of the contract
- Clarified options on donating sick time, with up to 8 hours that can be donated with the approval of the Chief, to officers who are out of sick time
- Modified the uniform allowance because it was a set amount and did not take inflation into account. The City pegged the cost to a percentage of a lieutenant’s salary. Smith said this is similar to the agreement the City has with the Covington Professional Firefighters Local 38
“That way as the salary of that position increases, the uniform salary would increase accordingly,” Smith said.
- Increased longevity pay
- Increased temporary supervisor assignment pay from $50 to $100 per week
- Clarified the contact person in terms of health care
Smith identified the most substantive changes as the 3 percent pay increase, adding an additional two days vacation for people who have 28 or more years of experience, and pegging the uniform cost allowance to a lieutenant’s salary.
