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Dunkirk's police officers have a new contract.
The city Common Council ratified a four-year deal with the city's Police Benevolent Association. The PBA ratified it last week.
The council and other city officials said little to nothing publicly about the contract, discussing it in executive session as allowed by state law.
"We did address this in an executive session the other night," City Attorney Michael Bobseine said. "If there's any need for any further discussion, we'd have to go into executive session. I'm hopeful all the issues were addressed and that won't be necessary."
There was no executive session Tuesday and the contract passed council 4-0 as Councilman James Stoyle was excused from the meeting.
The OBSERVER asked Bobseine for details about the contract. "The (annual raises) were really modest but the mayor (Wilfred Rosas) provided some sweeteners to encourage a settlement," he wrote back Wednesday morning.
"For example, he offered some changes to make some benefits inclusive of all officers, which helped sell the package.
"He relaxed the residency requirement to help recruit the next three hirings and bring the force to full (and lessen overtime while dealing with the tough competition for officers throughout the county -- Jamestown offers a $10K signing bonus)," Bobseine continued. "And, in exchange, boosted the residency requirement thereafter. This was critical to his way of thinking — he (and mayor-elect Kate Wdowiasz) wants the city's officers residing in the city ultimately."
The city "also increased the length of time that officers may obtain a share of the health insurance premium costs post-retirement once they reach 25 years."
Wednesday morning, Bobseine also sent a press release touting the agreement, with quotes from Rosas.
"I am pleased to have reached an agreement with our police union before I depart as mayor," said Rosas, whose last day in office is Dec. 31. "Our police are crucial to the health and safety of residents day in and day out. I'm pleased we were able to reach a settlement that benefits the city and our residents and fairly compensates our dedicated police officers."
Rosas praised Lt. Brian Dietzen, who is president of the PBA, and the PBA's entire negotiating team.
"We started these negotiations earlier this year and had some rough patches," said Rosas. "The union's attorney, Charles DeAngelo, is a tough negotiator. He is a great advocate for his clients, and nothing came easy."
"A final agreement wasn't a sure thing," concluded the mayor, "until it was."
Rosas said in a phone call Wednesday the deal includes no pay increase in the first and second year, but there would be a $200 signing bonus for the second year of the pact. A 1.5% increase is slated for the third year and a 2% increase would be seen in the fourth. In addition, the residency requirement would be extended from two to five years.
Dietzen was not available for comment Wednesday morning, the person who answered the phone at the police department saying he works the 3-to-11 shift.