Claremont : Police Contract Approved

The city has reached a four-year contract agreement with the union representing the city’s police officers. The pact, ratified last month by the rank and file of the Claremont Police Officers’ Assn. and approved last week by the City Council, includes a series of salary increases and a program to encourage early retirement.

The first year of the four-year contract calls for a 4.5% salary raise in December for sworn police officers and a 5% raise for non-sworn workers such as police recruits, communications officers and records clerks. On June 27, all personnel will receive a cost-of-living adjustment so that the raises will be 1.5% less than the inflation rate but no higher than 5% or lower than 3%. Similar raises and cost-of-living adjustments will be given in each of the following three years.

The agreement will also permit sworn police officers to retire with full benefits at age 50. The current retirement age is 55. The early-retirement provision goes into effect in June, 1991. The Police Officers’ Assn. agreed to take a salary cut if the cost of the early retirement program is more than 8% of the department’s total payroll expenditures.