More Valparaiso police officers are eligible for specialty pay, under the new contract between the city and the Valparaiso FOP lodge.
The contract approved by the board of works last week extends $800 of specialty pay to 24 officers, according to City Administrator Mike Jessen. "Basically, we'd be offering specialty pay for 10 evidence team members, six drone team members, three emergency response team members and five traffic crash reconstructionist team members," Jessen explained.
The new contract also reduces the amount of continuous service required for a $3,000 stipend from 12 years to eight — and sets aside $10,000 dollars in the city's budget for the department's K-9 program.
Jessen said negotiations went smoothly. "It's been a wonderful, a very collaborative relationship we've had, and working through these contract negotiations and so forth, of course, has also been very positive. And we appreciate all the work that they do on a continuous basis," Jessen added.
The contract is retroactive to November 1st of this year and runs through March of 2024.
