By Daniel J. Chacon
Rocky Mountain News
DENVER — Mayor John Hickenlooper wasn’t kidding when he reaffirmed his commitment to public safety earlier this month.
The top brass at the Denver police, fire and sheriff’s departments are all poised to get 4.25 percent pay raises this year.
The heads of each department, police Chief Gerry Whitman, fire Chief Nick Nuanes and Undersheriff Bill Lovingier, as well as their top lieutenants are also all guaranteed 4 percent pay raises in 2009 and agai n in 2010 under proposals the City Council will consider tonight.
The council also will vote on a collective bargaining agreement with firefighters, which calls for a 4 percent salary increase in 2009 and again in 2010 and a 3.8 percent pay raise in 2011.
“There is no higher priority for Denver than keeping our community safe,” Hickenlooper said.
“Our police, fire and corrections commanders are the guiding forces of our public safety efforts,” he said Sunday.
“These measures represent our best effort to ensure that their compensation, as well as that of our rank and file firefighters, is competitive and fair.”
Agreements with the rank and file at the police and sheriff’s departments are already in place, though sheriff’s deputies had to fight for theirs. During negotiations between deputies and the city last year, union representatives called the city’s offer unfair and out of step with the market.
When the deadlocked negotiations landed in arbitration, an arbitrator sided with the deputies.
The council recently approved a three-year collective bargaining agreement that gives deputies a 5 percent pay raise this year and a 4.5 percent increase in 2009 and again in 2010.
The agreement with police officers was approved last year.
The three-year contract gives officers an overall 14 percent raise, starting with 4.75 percent this year.
Ed Bagwell, an organizer for the Teamsters Local Union No. 17, said he hopes the mayor’s administration gives other city employees similar pay raises.
Bagwell, who is leading an effort to unionize some 7,400 city workers, said the public safety employees are using collective bargaining to “springboard” their salary increases.
“The (other) city employees can’t do that because they have to beg for their increases,” he said. “They can’t even collectively beg. They just have to hope that the city will do the right thing.”
Copyright 2008 Denver Publishing Company