ANGOLA — An agreement for the Evans Police Department was approved at the latest Evans Town Board meeting.

With three members of the Evans Police Benevolent Association in attendance, the board praised the work of the union to come to terms with a new contract for the Evans Police force. The contract which is good from January 1, 2018 until December 2020, was a give and take by both sides of the issue.

Key issues the town got in the negotiation process was a reduction of health care costs down to 15 percent for all 21 officers, no increase in pay in 2018 and 2020 and an increase of 5 percent for each officer paying toward their own health insurance.

Evans Police Officers are “taxpayers too” to the town of Evans as one member of the Evans PBA exclaimed and he also stated he “was very proud of this contract.” The contract also only allows an eight step process to get from a starting wage to the very top of the pay scale, which would take roughly eight years for any new officer that was to start now.