Haverstraw Police Contract Settled

A nearly three-year impasse on a police contract has been settled in arbitration between the Town of Haverstraw and its police union.

The police will receive retroactive biannual 1.25 percent salary increases dating back to July 1, 2011. The town saves some money in the deal, as the arbitrators gave police no raise between January and July 1, 2011, the first six-month interval they went without a contract.

The retroactive payments will appear on police officers’ Dec. 13 paychecks. The town has yet to state how much the retroactive increases amount to and said the sum will be paid for through the tax stabilization fund.

Town Supervisor Howard Phillips noted the Police Department accounts for 60 percent of the town’s overall budget. He told media that the contract included a provision to remove “sick-leave accumulation” for injuries that remove officers for the force for over one year, as well as provisions to allow overlapping of shifts, which hopefully will reduce overtime costs. Officers will not have to pay into their health plans as the town requested.