Police Gather Support for Pay Hike

MONROVIA — Merchants and senior citizens rallied behind Monrovia’s police this week, urging the City Council to approve a 10.11% pay hike for the city’s 45 officers. The city has offered a 9.07% raise, a difference amounting to $23,000 of Monrovia’s $3.7-million police budget.

Talks between the city and the Monrovia Police Relief Officers Assn. broke off last Friday and police have been picketing City Hall off and on since then.

“The city has offered us a reasonable increase but now it is a matter of principle, not the dollars,” said Bill Crawford, vice president of the officers group.

The dispute revolves around a new federal law requiring the city to pay police time-and-a-half for overtime, an amount estimated at $23,000 annually.

Same in Arcadia, Glendora

Before the law went into effect in March, police officers were paid straight time for working longer than their normal shifts. The police association said that of 14 San Gabriel Valley cities, only Arcadia, Glendora and Monrovia had not been paying police time-and-a-half for extra hours.

“They offered us a package they say is 9.07%, but (in effect) they are assessing us the cost of the Fair Labor Standard Act” that governs overtime, Crawford said.

“For years the city said they would bring us up (in salaries) when they had the money. Three years ago they told us when they got reserves they would bring us up. Now they have $5.9 million in reserves.

“We waited before because we knew the city didn’t have the money.”

The city and the police association have been negotiating since May. When talks broke off Friday, police began gathering 600 signatures from residents and merchants on a petition supporting their position.

Polled Community

“We went through the community to see if we have the support,” Crawford said as he presented the petition to the council at its meeting Tuesday.

Eleven speakers, mostly merchants and senior citizens, told the council that Monrovia has an outstanding police force. They pointed out that when the city was in financial straits for several years after passage of Prop. 13 in 1978, the police were patient. Now, they said, the city has money and should pay its officers what they ask.

Steve Kranz, a resident, said, “I can’t believe the council is penalizing officers for working overtime. Your offer raises salaries only to the average (of 14 cities in the San Gabriel Valley), and I hope you don’t regard (the officers) as average.”

Evelyn Carr, manager of a senior citizen complex, said, “I am here to see that the police get what they are entitled to. They do their duty and the senior citizens support them.”

‘Very Talented People’

Randy Reece, who identified himself as a businessman and resident, said, “This is fast becoming a popular area for people to move to, but if we don’t support the police they will take jobs in other communities. They are very talented people.”

Crawford assured the council that the police did not plan to strike and were willing to resume talks with the city.

Responding to Crawford’s offer, Mayor Paul Stuart said, “I suggest one more negotiating meeting and see if we can’t put this to rest.”

Earlier, Stuart said he thought that the city’s offer was fair.

“In the past, when things were bad economically, police salaries were at the bottom, but in the last few years we have done a lot to bring them up, including buying better equipment. We want to have the best police possible; we are not trying to beat them out of anything.”

$187,000 Increase

Under the city’s offer, an officer with 3 1/2 years’ service with the department would make $30,000 a year, said Assistant City Manager Jeanne Kennedy, the city’s negotiator. She said the increase would bring the pay of Monrovia’s officers in line with the average wage paid to officers in other San Gabriel Valley police departments. The total package would cost the city $187,000 more than it is paying now.

The city’s previous contract with police expired June 30 and the officers have been without a contract since then.

Crawford said that members of the association, who include lieutenants, sergeants, agents and officers, voted unanimously to turn down the city’s latest offer.

“Since July 23 we have come down 4% in our request and the city has made no concession,” he said.