Feb. 23,
2022
| Peter Currier
pcurrier@thereminder.com
WESTFIELD — Mayor Michael McCabe said last week that he shares some of the concerns expressed by city councilors who voted down a negotiated labor contract with the Patrol Officer’s Coalition.
The Westfield police union contract was negotiated under former Mayor Donald Humason Jr., and signed with just days remaining in his term, after Humason lost his November bid for re-election. The council voted on Feb. 17 to reject the agreement, 9-4.
Among the chief concerns about the contract was its overall cost. It covers a span of three budget years from July 1 of this year to June 30, 2025, and includes annual 2 percent raises for all patrol officers, and an expansion of bonuses paid to officers who receive a bachelor’s degree.
McCabe, who retired as a captain with the Westfield Police Department before his second run for mayor, agreed with the concerns about the cost.
“I don’t think the City Council was trying to disrespect the police, I just didn’t think they could afford it,” said McCabe.
He said that one benefit of the contract going back to the negotiating table is that it can now be negotiated with figures from the fiscal 2023 budget in mind.
The union for superior officers, which is separate from the Patrol Officer’s Coalition, had asked not to begin negotiations on its own contract until March, when the budget process is further along.
“Real strategy is predicated around known figures for the city budget,” said McCabe. He said he hopes to start doing the preliminary renegotiations once early budget figures start coming in.
He said that this year’s budget process is actually “well ahead of schedule,” and that he has already received all of the budget proposals for all 26 city departments. On March 1, the time-consuming process of examining each department’s proposal will begin.
“We will see what the difference is between the wants and the needs,” said McCabe, “and we will see the difference between the gaps of the contracts that have been negotiated and the gaps of the contracts that have not been negotiated.”
The police contract rejected by the City Council was negotiated on the city’s side by its Personnel Department, Law Department and the city auditor. McCabe said he expects that the same team will be involved in the renegotiations.
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