The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

Local News

September 27, 2012

City, cops OK contract

Lifts residency requirement

By Joe Pinchot Herald Staff Writer

HERMITAGE — Hermitage commissioners on Wednesday approved a new three-year contract with the police union that allows voting members of the union to live outside of the city.

The police union members signed the agreement Wednesday, said City Manager Gary P. Hinkson, but they had ratified it sometime earlier.

The pact grants a 2.5-percent pay hike each year, adds two personal days for police hired on or after May 7, 1998, and reduces the number of sick days from 15 to 11 for the same employees.

For employees hired after Jan. 1, their uniform allowance will increase from $500 to $600, and they will be required to pay 1.5 percent of their wages into a fund that will be used to help pay future retiree health care costs.

“The police negotiators were very professional and focused on getting an agreement,” said City Manager Gary P. Hinkson. “I think both sides worked hard to get a fair agreement.”

Union President Chad Nych was on duty at the time of the vote and could not immediately be reached.

Prior to the new contract, which takes effect Jan. 1, all city employees were required to live in the city. The voting union members will now be allowed to live within 10 air miles of the city building, as long as they remain in Pennsylvania.

Hinkson said there are various theories as to why employees should live in the city, including that they are paid by tax dollars and need to be close by in case they have to be called in to work on short notice.

But, he added, with a city the size of Hermitage, someone could live in a neighboring municipality and still be closer to work than another employee who lives in the city.

“There’s points and counterpoints all over the place,” he said.

Hermitage School District does not require employees to live in the city, and some police departments also do not have residency requirements.

Southwest Mercer County Regional police, which once had a strict residency requirement, in recent years has moved to a policy along the lines of what now will be acceptable for Hermitage police.

While the contract also sets the wages and working conditions for police managers – the chief, deputy chief and captain – it is unclear whether the expanded residency boundaries would apply to them, Hinkson said.

The contract does not cover the non-police-certified office staff, who are members of Local 2778 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, along with other city workers. The AFSCME contract expires April 30.

Hinkson said he has not been approached about opening negotiations with the AFSCME union, but expects bargaining will begin sometime next year.

Hinkson said he did not know if residency will become an issue for other city employees.

The police union, Lodge 82 of the Fraternal Order of Police, has 23 members, but there are three vacant positions that officials are hoping to fill. Negotiations began June 21.

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