Good police officers deserve our respect and they deserve to be
rewarded, but can the city continue to afford these contracts?
With little fanfare, the city and the Gilroy Police Officer’s Association have reached a contract settlement. Unlike with the firefighters, binding arbitration and bluster were, thankfully, not necessary for the accord.
And there’s nothing that would raise an eyebrow in terms of being “out of the ordinary” in the contract.
The deal calls for a 9 percent raise over three years. Also, police officers, for the first time, will have a co-pay for medical and dental insurance. An officer with a family will pay about $61 per month. And the city has capped its health insurance liability. It will pick up increases up to 5 percent a year.
All in all, the contract seems fair, a good bargain struck by both sides.
Nevertheless, one number sticks out – the contract will cost the city $830,000 or so annually. Times three, that’s close to $2.5 million over the three-year period. What’s going to happen when this community decides it’s had enough of more and more shopping centers to generate sales tax to flow into the city coffers? Is Gilroy in a deep vicious cycle that will eventually put our town in dire financial straits?
That’s our main concern.
Good police officers deserve our utmost respect. Our department has an outstanding arrest rate, and though the computers in the patrol cars aren’t working and the “Citadel” police station is way over the top in terms of expenses, the truth is that the officers on the street have a tough job that should be rewarded.
But that has to be balanced with fiscal reality, and with each passing contract Gilroy inches closer to the day when the cupboard is bare.
What then?
