Agreements include cost-of-living adjustments, promotional procedures
MELROSE — Mayor Jen Grigoraitis announced this week that the City of Melrose reached new collective bargaining agreements with the Melrose Patrol Officers Association and the Melrose Superior Police Officers Association. The previous contracts for both bargaining units expired on June 30, 2024.
These new agreements provide for a number of measures intended to improve the efficacy of the Department and the needs and priorities of the City’s dedicated police force, while recognizing the City’s limited financial resources.
Key provisions of the agreements include wage adjustments; new promotional procedures using an assessment center to provide a more comprehensive evaluation of a candidate’s skills, competencies and leadership potential; and the creation of a Deputy Chief position (contingent on available funding in the future).
The new three-year contracts cover the Fiscal Years 2025, 2026 and 2027.
Because the previous agreements expired on June 30, 2024, the agreements include one year of retroactive pay increases for FY 25. Given the anticipated cuts needed to balance the FY 26 city budget, both unions agreed to delay the majority of the wage increases to year 3 (FY 27) of the contract to give the City time to prepare.
“Thanks to our common understanding of the City’s challenging financial forecasts and our common commitment to building an effective and modern police department for Melrose, our police bargaining units were collaborative and pragmatic in approaching the negotiations for these important collective bargaining agreements,” said Mayor Grigoraitis. “I’m grateful to our patrol and superior officers for their continued dedication to keeping our community safe, and for their recognition of the City’s constrained budget capacity while advocating for their members, over 70% of whom are also Melrose residents and taxpayers.”
“I am very pleased we were able to settle both contracts,” said Chief of Police Kevin Faller. “It is a testament to the professionalism of our Police Officers and the Mayor’s Office to understand the fiscal situation we are in as a City, bargain in good faith, and ultimately arrive at a deal that is fair for all.”