NLV Police, detention officers get 6.5 percent raise

Police and detention officers in North Las Vegas will receive a 6.5 percent increase in wages and benefits covering the fiscal year July 1, 1998, to June 30, 1999.

This means that the approximately 280 North Las Vegas police and detention officers will be working under a contract for the first time since June 30 of last year.

The raise, most of which will be paid retroactively, was approved unanimously Thursday night by the North Las Vegas City Council as part of a four-year contract.

Still to be negotiated under the contract, and not part of the council approval Thursday night, are wages and benefits for the next three years.

If the city and North Las Vegas Police Officers Association do not reach agreement by June 15 on the wages and benefits for the years 2000 to 2002, the contract must go to mediation. If the contract does go to mediation, and the mediation drags out beyond June 30, the officers will find themselves once again without a contract.

Speaking of the next couple of months, when the officers are assured of a contract, Mayor Michael Montandon said Thursday night, "It's wonderful to be here after a long, drawn-out process. I appreciate the time and effort on both sides."

And Association President Dave Galyen said, "My negotiating team is willing to settle years two, three and four tomorrow."

For the first time in the city's history, the police contract was actually broken in two -- one for rank-and-file officers and one for supervisors.

In each of those contracts, the approval Thursday night was simply for fiscal-year 1998-1999. Those approvals amount to about a $1 million increase in the city's budget for the current fiscal year, which is about $500,000 less than the contract the City Council rejected last August.

Wages and benefits -- including longevity pay, medical insurance, and uniform allowances -- remain to be negotiated for the next three years of the contracts.

Councilman William Robinson urged both sides to expedite the negotiations. "Let's get this done," he said.

The city and the union have been at odds since the council voted Aug. 5 not to accept an agreement ratified by the union membership because the increased cost of the contract for the first year would have been about $1.5 million, $833,000 more than what had been budgeted.

Councilwoman Stephanie Smith said she hoped the council's vote Thursday would be considered a sign of support for the association as well as a vote for the city's taxpayers.

As part of the new contract, the association gave up its plans to add an eighth step to the annual salary schedule, a small allowance for continuing education and a small incentive for bilingual officers, Galyen said.

Some officers within the department, who are not union members, allege the union had been operating illegally according to state law for the past 30 years because supervisors and rank-and-file employees were in the same bargaining unit.

Concerning the determination of bargaining units, Nevada law states "a head of a department of a local government, an administrative employee or a supervisory employee shall not be a member of the same bargaining unit as the employees under his direction."

Attorney John Harper, counsel for the union, however, said in his opinion the association has always been in compliance because the law is ambiguous.

Galyen said the union agreed to make the split after Chief Deputy City Attorney Mark Zalaoras issued an interoffice memo concerning the legality of a single bargaining unit for police officers and supervisors. In the memo, he recommended the department be broken separate bargaining units.

Lt. Joe Forti, spokesman for the police department, said he believes the majority of the officers are pleased with the one-year package on wages and benefits.

"I think it's fair," he said. "It's not as good as the last package, but it's not a slap in the face or an insult."

archive