Wilmington – Mayor Mike Purzycki announced yesterday that the City and its two union police Inspectors and seven union Captains have reached agreement on a new three-year contract. The new agreement had been negotiated over the past few weeks and was approved today by the Inspectors and Captains.
The labor agreement must be approved by Wilmington City Council, which meets for the last time in 2017 on Thursday night. The Council’s Public Safety Committee is scheduled to review the agreement tonight.
Similar to the FOP rank and file agreement that was approved last month, the Captains and Inspectors contract provides pay increases of 2% each in Fiscal Years 2018, 2019 and 2020. In an effort to control health care costs, the nine ranking officers have agreed to pay up to 12% of the City’s total annual premium that is paid for police officers, versus the current average of 6% for this bargaining unit. To encourage better health among their ranks, the Inspectors and Captains who engage with and follow the recommendations of their physicians for age and gender specific screenings will receive a two percentage point reduction on their premium contribution.
Also, as recommended by the City’s Health Care Task Force, the Inspectors and Captains agreed to a higher co-pay for an emergency room visit of $150 versus $50, as well as the mandatory use of less expensive, but just as effective, generic drug prescriptions.
The fiscal impact of the agreement will be $46,635 for Fiscal year 2018, $94,203 for Fiscal Year 2019, and $142,722 for Fiscal Year 2020.
The Mayor today thanked the Inspectors and Captains for working with the City to achieve mutual goals involving a fair pay hike as well as steps to control rising health care costs.
Source: Mayors Office