Good to see accord at hand for city, police union

What a relief to see the Wichita police union reach a tentative agreement with the city on a three-year contract, one that would give union members 4 percent annual raises through 2009 and reportedly not require a tax increase. The dispute led to out-of-town mediation and four contractless months, as it reflected badly on city leadership, but what counts is that a resolution is at hand, pending union members’ approval next week.
Posted by Rhonda Holman

5 Comments

  1. Republican
    Posted April 20, 2007 at 1:11 am | Permalink

    Glad they got it settled. I would have paid them more, perhaps in the six percent range.

    Police work is extremely dangerous and so diverse we should pay them more.

  2. Kev
    Posted April 20, 2007 at 5:54 am | Permalink

    I would have liked to see the police and fire/EMS get larger raises but 4% seems fair nuff in a no inflation economy. As far as police work being dangerous, it can be but it is actually about number 20 on the list of most dangerous (mining and farming lead the list). The police and fire people should be well paid professionals and, just as important, they should feel that their work is appreciated by those they serve.

  3. raptor
    Posted April 20, 2007 at 7:29 am | Permalink

    I participated in a ‘ride along’ a few weeks ago, and know that job is not something I could ever do. My officer’s shift started at 5PM, and went until 3AM. He stopped once at a convenience store, and once for a take out hamburger (that he ate cold about 45 minutes later). No breaks, no donut shops, no time out..just 10 straight hours of work.

    During that time, I saw him act as marriage counselor, law enforcement official, mediator, surrogate parent, etc. I saw him treat a suspect professionally, even when he had solid proof the suspect was lying to him.

    More people should try a ride along to get an interesting perspective of a job that is incredibly difficult. My hat is off to them!

  4. Tom Paine
    Posted April 20, 2007 at 11:06 am | Permalink

    The probelm with paying the police , or the military, teachers and other civil severive type jobs, is that almost everyone agrees that they need to be paid well but no one wants to pay the taxes needed to do that.

  5. Kev
    Posted April 20, 2007 at 6:31 pm | Permalink

    “The probelm with paying the police , or the military, teachers and other civil severive type jobs, is that almost everyone agrees that they need to be paid well but no one wants to pay the taxes needed to do that.”

    I don’t mind paying the taxes for that. When I call 9-1-1, I want somebody to answer.