The Town of Vernon announced on Thursday it had reached an agreement with its police union after a protracted and, at times, heated arbitration battle that went to court.

The new agreement, valued at $986,000, awards a 3 percent general wage increase each year of the four-year contract, boosts starting pay for new police officers from $68,036 to $82,935 by August of 2024 by eliminating the first two steps in the town’s pay scale and awards an additional $7,000 bump on the officer’s first-year anniversary. The new contract also boosts the top pay position by another $3,000.

The new agreement is the result of negotiations that took place between town and union officials while the town contested a decision by an arbitration panel in court, thereby avoiding a potentially drawn out and expensive court case.

The town and union had previously gone to arbitration with the union over pay and healthcare premiums during which the town failed to submit its final best offers on a wide range of contract issues to the arbitrators in what was called a “scrivener’s error,” resulting in the arbitration panel awarding the union everything it asked for at the time. The town then took the matter to court to overturn the arbitration decision.

Vernon argued that because both parties agreed to waive statutory arbitration requirements, it was not required to submit last best offers on issues that were not in dispute. The arbitration panel disagreed with this argument, saying state statute requires that they reach a decision according to the statement of the last best offer and could not consider any offer that wasn’t documented in writing before them.

That court case, which had statutory interpretation issues at stake, however, will no longer play out as the town and union appear to have reached an agreement, primarily around pay for officers and maintaining previous contract language around a number of other issues that had been decided by the arbitration panel when there was no final best offer from the town. 

The town had previously submitted last best offers of 2.25 percent pay increases in each contract year, whereas the union offered 3 percent. The arbitration panel had sided with the union on pay increases and the $3,000 increase for the top step. The Town argued that a 3 percent general wage increase and the additional $3,000 pay bump to top officers would amount to a 6.2 percent pay increase in the first year.

The town had also originally proposed a revised step schedule for new officers, however, the union countered by arguing that the new step schedule would unfairly result in new officers earning more than officers who had been on the job longer. 

The elimination of starting steps appears to be a compromise and town leaders indicated it will help in recruiting and retention of town police officers, combined with the general wage increase and maintaining the town’s pension plan for officers, which is based on salary earnings.

“Our main goal from the beginning was to improve recruitment and retention, as reflected in our initial proposal and what we were able to achieve with this agreement,” Assistant Town Administrator and Chief Negotiator Dawn Maselek said in a press release. “With this contract, we can increase starting pay for police officers and continue to offer a competitive benefit package.”

Negotiations over the police contract and taking the matter before an arbitration panel spurred some heated rhetoric from Vernon’s police union president Detective Thomas Van Tasel who pointed the finger squarely at Vernon Mayor Dan Champagne, a former police officer, for cutting benefits after receiving them himself.

But the new four-year agreement was ratified by the union and passed by the Vernon Town Council with praise from Champagne. “I am pleased the union and town administration were able to come together and reach an agreement that serves the best interests of our community,” Champagne said.

“The contract keeps us competitive with other police departments and should greatly aid in our ongoing recruitment and retention efforts,” Vernon Police Chief John Kelly said in the press release. “The Vernon Police Department is a great place to work and offers employees opportunities for advancement and a variety of specialty units in which to serve our community.”

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