Police siren
The Portland Police Association and the city of Portland have reached a tentative agreement for a three-year contract.
(The Oregonian/OregonLive/file)
Portland's rank-and-file police union has tentatively agreed to a new three-year contract featuring higher pay while ending the so-called 48-hour rule, capping tortuous negotiations that dragged on for months as Mayor Charlie Hales worked to sell the deal and help cement his legacy.
Hales said the new agreement, if formally approved by the Portland Police Association and City Council, will help recruit and retain officers in the understaffed Police Bureau.
Under terms of the deal, Portland would increase the top salary for officers and other positions by three percent a year for three consecutive years, taking today's top rate from $81,640 to $89,014 - not including annual cost-of-living hikes. Officials have previously projected the pay raise would cost $6.8 million a year once fully implemented.
In exchange, the union would drop 11 pending grievances and would give up a rule allowing officers to wait 48 hours before being interviewed about the use of force.
But the agreement doesn't formally spell out terms for officers wearing body cameras. City and union leaders are working toward agreement, but they removed specifics from their accord after hearing concerns from the U.S. Department of Justice last week about when officers should be able to review footage.
Hales, in an interview with The Oregonian/OregonLive Tuesday morning, said the contract satisfies his three top goals and is hopeful it'll set up the bureau for success under Mayor-elect Ted Wheeler, who takes over Jan. 1.
"We have to be able to manage the bureau, be credible to the public and be competitive," said Hales, who made the police contract a top priority in his final months in office.
Union membership is expected to vote on the contract in coming weeks and the City Council is set to consider it Sept. 28. If approved, the contract would go into effect 30 days after its ratification and expire June 30, 2020.
Although the union's current contract doesn't lapse until next year, Hales took the unusual step of beginning negotiations a year early hoping to lock up a deal - without the City Council's buy-in. Hoping to pay for police higher wages, Hales in May unveiled a controversial proposal to increase the city's business tax but commissioners quickly shot it down.
At times it appeared Hales wouldn't be able to finalize a contract, facing obstacles not only inside City Hall but with the union. In recent weeks, he took the unusual step of directly pleading his case in front of the union's large executive board while also securing necessary political support from commissioners.
Both sides thought they reached a deal last week, only to see it jeopardized when the Department of Justice balked over how and when body camera could be reviewed by officers.
"We are not going to resist the guidance of the federal government," Hales said. "There's a legitimate set of technical issues that need to get worked through."
Hales was firm in saying he expects officers will begin wearing body cameras at some point over the next three years. But he acknowledged "there's still a lot of work to do."
As for staffing, only time will tell if the pay hikes actually improve police recruitment and retention. Salary increases would go into effect on Jan. 1, with subsequent hikes in 2018 and 2019.
The city also will consider reimbursing new hires for some portion of outstanding student debt and will explore creating a new position -- community service officers, who wouldn't carry guns -- that could help address some work that doesn't require police officers' attention.
The union president, Daryl Turner, issued a statement Tuesday morning saying he's proud of the agreement.
"We are confident that this tentative agreement will start us on the road to resolving our staffing shortages and also ensure that we retain the well-educated, trained, experienced, and dedicated professionals of the Portland Police Bureau," Turner said.
This post will be updated as more information becomes available.
-- Brad Schmidt
503-294-7628
@cityhallwatch