Lower Burrell police to get 12.5% wage hike over 5 years

Lower Burrell and its police officers have ratified a new labor agreement that includes a 12.5% wage increase over the five-year term of the contract.

City council approved the contract, 4-0.

The contract covers Lower Burrell’s 17 full-time police officers. Under the state’s Third Class City Code, part-time officers are not permitted, Councilman Chris Fabry said.

These are the current and future police salaries in Lower Burrell, according to Amy Rockwell, city administrator.

They are rounded to the nearest $100 for clarity:

• A starting patrolman currently earns just under $61,600 a year and will earn about $63,100 in 2022, the first year of the new contract. In the final year of the contract in 2026, a patrolman be paid close to $69,700.

• A sergeant’s current annual salary is more than $86,500. A sergeant will earn $88,700 next year, the first year of the new contract. Then in 2026, the final year of the contract, a sergeant will make just over $97,900 a year.

• A lieutenant currently earns about $88,200 annually. Next year, a lieutenant will make $90,400. Then at the end of the new labor contact in 2026, a lieutenant will earn $99,800.

Mayor John Andrejcik said that the negotiations went “very well.”

Fabry added, “Both sides gave a little, compromised and came to what we feel is a fair and even contract across the board.”

The police seemed satisfied, too.

“The amazing part of the negotiations was this contract was negotiated and resolved in one session,” said Steve Aulerich, a patrolman for Lower Burrell and president of Fraternal Order of Police, Allegheny Valley Lodge No. 39, which represents the Lower Burrellofficers.

“In my many years, I’ve never had any police department achieve this task,” he said.

Previous contract negotiations between city police and city council have lasted as long as 18 months, he said.

The current contract expires on Dec. 31. The new deal covers from Jan. 1, 2022 to Dec. 31, 2026, according to Rockwell.

There were no other significant changes in the new contract, Rockwell said.