Newberg poised to sign new three-year contract with police union

In a process described by one city official as “collegial” and brief, the city of Newberg is poised to adopt a three-year contract with the police union representing the rank-and-file members of the Newberg-Dundee Police Department.

The city council is slated to take action on the contract as part of its May 20 meeting agenda.

The contract covers 39 individuals in the department, including dispatchers and sworn officers. Administrative staff are classified as management and are not part of the collective bargaining system.

“I think that this went so smoothly because the officers have come to trust management to make a fair offer and to have looked at the budget carefully before we come to the table,” said City Manager Will Worthey, who joined staff members from the human resources and finance departments in negotiating with the Newberg-Dundee Public Safety Association. “We were able to come to terms in just a few meetings as a result. This year one of management’s asks was to go to a three-year contract to line up with the desired new biennium budget process for 2025-2027.”

Worthey, who said he was involved with every aspect of the collective bargaining process, added “I was glad we were able to come to terms acceptable by both parties given current inflation.”

Those terms include union members receiving a 4% cost of living increase in each year of the three-year contract. In addition, and as a means to retain young officers, the city also agreed to offer $60 per month longevity pay after an officer has served for five years, a stipulation that is consistent with the city’s overall employee compensation but new to the union.

The change in longevity pay will cost the city an additional $15,182 annually. Offsetting the cost of the longevity boost, the union agreed to lower the monthly longevity pay for 20 years of service from $400 to $300, but added in a 25-year tier at $400 per month.

In addition to pay increases, officers will receive an increase in the cap on comp time from 80 to 96 hours, which is also in line with other city employees’ pay structure. Union members will also, for the first time, be able to cash out vacation time once per year.

"The city and Newberg-Dundee Public Safety Association agreed to a fair contract that benefits both sides, and ultimately the community at large," NDPD Chief Jeff Kosmicki said in an email. "We have built a great team of police officers, 911 dispatchers and support staff here at a time when most agencies are struggling to keep their agencies staffed.

"I am confident our employees feel supported by city management and enjoy working here, which helps in retention. By offering competitive compensation packages, it helps so we do not lose them to other agencies. Of course, we must be mindful of taxpayer dollars at a time when everything is expensive, but I think we have done a good job of balancing fair compensation while providing quality employees and public safety services. We are consistently one of the safest communities in Oregon and we don’t ever want to lose that."

The impact on the city’s finances of the three years of the contract is more than $1.13 million and “places the officers somewhere in the upper middle of the local market,” the council packet said.

“It is clear that any of the officers could find a higher paying position given the national understaffing crisis in police teams. …,” Worthey noted in the packet. “Police Chief (Jeff) Kosmicki has created a cohesive and loyal team, adding peer support training and resources and much stability for Newberg.”

The increase in the cost of living adjustment has been factored into the budgets for the next three years, Worthey said.

“We anticipate a fairly stable ending fund balance through the three-year projected period, but this can only be maintained by not adding any new staff and everyone is fully aware that this has to be the case …,” he added. “The city’s (full-time employee) count is actually running slightly less than last year at 148.”

Worthey stressed that COLAs for all city staff will be between 3% and 4% over the next fiscal year.

“We need to do this to keep the city fully staffed given current inflation,” he said. “One of our goals is to keep the city fully staffed and we have done this this year with only occasional hiring actions being required (to) keep the status quo.”