Arnold approves new police contract, payment for firetruck repairs
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Police in Arnold will start the new year with a new contract and, officials hope, a higher and more attractive starting wage.
City Council unanimously approved the new, four-year agreement during a special meeting Friday. It covers 10 officers, nine full time and one part time, who already had accepted it.
It will run from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2028.
Robert McTiernan, a labor attorney with Tucker Arensberg who represented the city in talks, said the city and union reached a fair deal after starting far apart.
The contract includes 2.5% pay increases in each year. It also increases officers’ contributions to health insurance premiums by 25%, from $2,520 per year to $3,120, McTiernan said.
The starting salary for a new officer will increase from 60% of the full amount to 75%. That will take it from $38,339 to $45,848, which McTiernan said includes the 2.5% increase for 2024.
Mayor Joe Bia and Councilman Adam Zweig took part in the talks. Bia is leaving office at the end of the year after losing his bid for reelection in the May primary to the city’s incoming mayor, Shannon Santucci.
Santucci, who did not attend the noon meeting, said she was happy they agreed on a pay increase.
“It is definitely one of the things that I was hoping could happen,” she said. “A pay increase was never a concern.”
Councilman Phil McKinley initially protested, saying he was being asked to vote on the contract when he had not seen it. He changed his position following an executive session during which McKinley said he was able to review it and found it fair to both sides.
Fire truck repair bill paid
Council approved paying a $20,000 balance due on repairs to the city’s 13-year-old aerial platform firetruck.
The total cost of maintenance and repairs on the 2010 truck was $45,000. Council previously had approved $25,000 toward that.
The $20,000 will come from a line item for fire department repairs in the city’s 2024 budget.
The work was done by F.A.S.T. of the Allegheny Mountains in Somerset County, the closest authorized repair center for the truck’s Columbus, Ohio, manufacturer, Sutphen, according to fire department spokesman Chris O’Leath.
Some residents and McKinley questioned council about how the work was done, including asking why the city had not sought bids.
But McKinley conceded the city had no choice but to pay the bill.
Councilman George Hawdon, who is leaving council after not seeking reelection this year, said he would take full responsibility for how the work was done.
Hawdon said some of the work had to be done by the manufacturer. Taking it to other vendors for estimates would have been costly as it would have required taking it to them and towing it.
Work focused on maintenance and repairs to the truck’s ladder, he said. The truck still has two ongoing issues, a suspected hydraulic leak and a charging system that isn’t working.
The truck had been allocated to Arnold’s No. 1 fire department, which council decertified in June. While the truck has been returned to the city, No. 2 fire Chief Eric Gartley said his members are not able to use it until they are trained.
The truck is expected to be in service by late spring or early summer.
Other matters
• In other business, a motion to approve a raise for Rick Rayburg, the city’s community development director, was not acted upon when no motion was made.
• Council approved the withdrawal of Ed Zalewski’s previous notice of intent to retire effective Dec. 31. A police clerk, Zalewski also performs janitorial duties, Bia said.
The city already had hired a replacement, Carol Braden. As discussed by council, both will be part time, with Zalewski working three days per week and Braden working two days per week.